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BV  4310  .D26  1887 
Davidson,  John  Thain,  1833 

1904. 
The  city  youth 


S/iel/.. 


A'umOer 


THE    CITY   YOUTH, 


THE    CITY    YOUTH 


J.    TRAIN  'DAVIDSON,    D.D., 

.AUTHOR  OP 
TALKS  WITH  YOUNG  MEN,"  "  FOREWARNED— FORBARMED/'  BTC 


A.    C.    ARMSTRONG    AND    SON, 

714,    BROADWAY. 

1887. 


PREFACE, 


HOW  one's  heart  warms  towards  the  fine  young 
fellows  who  month  by  month  are  pouring  into 
the  metropolis,  and  the  other  great  commercial  centres 
of  the  country  ! 

Life  is  all  before  them,  with  its  difficulties  and 
dangers,  its  temptations  and  opportunities,  its  successes 
and  discouragements ;  and  one  must  be  unfeeling 
indeed  who  does  not  look  upon  them  with  kindHest 
interest,  and  is  not  ready  with  the  hand  of  help  and  the 
word  of  generous  sympathy. 

There  is  no  class  of  persons  who  so  well  repay  with 
responsive  attention  and  grateful  appreciation  any 
efforts  made  on  their  behalf. 

The  youths  for  whom  the  following  plain  and  homely 
addresses  are  chiefly  intended,  like  those  to  whom  they 
were  originally  delivered,  are  lads  of  from  sixteen  to 
twenty  years  of  age,  who  have  left  the  parental  roof,  and 
have  come  up  to  push  their  way  in  the  busy  crowded  city. 

Magna   civitas,    magna   solitudo,   is  an   old    proverb 


vi  Preface. 

whose  truthfulness  many  a  young  man  can  confirm  ;  no 
place  perhaps  seeming  to  him  more  lonely  than  the  vast 
metropolis,  whilst  as  yet  amongst  its  teeming  thousands 
there  is  scarcely  one  whose  hand  he  can  grasp,  or 
whose  face  he  can  recognise. 

It  has  been  the  author's  aim,  in  the  preparation  of 
these  pages,  to  supply  a  genial  and  useful  Friend^  who 
will  talk  cheerily  yet  seriously  to  the  new-comer,  and 
put  him  on  his  guard  against  the  moral  dangers  by 
which  he  is  certain  to  be  beset.  May  he  bespeak  for 
this  Friend  a  kindly  welcome  and  a  patient  hearing  ? 


CONTENTS. 


CHAP.  PAGB 

I.  A  YOUTH  VOID   OF  UNDERSTANDING      •  .         •        I 

II.  A  YOUNG  MAN  FROM   THE   COUNTRY      ,  ,  .      I'J 

III.  KEEP  THYSELF   PURE       ...  •  •  •     35 

IV.  MAKING  SHIPWRECK  OF  THE   SOUL         ,  .  .     51 
V.    "AS   THE   MAN   IS,    SO   IS   HIS   STRENGTH"    ,  .     Cy 

VI,  "LORD,    I   WILL   FOLLOW  THEE:    buf "    ,  .      81 

VII.    FEARING  THE   LORD   FROM   ONE'S  YOUTH       ,  .      95 

VIII.    PAUL'S   SISTER'S   SON lOQ 

IX,   "WHOSE   SON  ART  THOU,   YOUNG  MAN?"    .  .   12$ 

X.    CLOAK,    BOOKS,   AND   PARCHMENTS  •  •  .    Ijg 

XI.    FORSAKING  EGYPT    .  ,  ,  .  ,  .  .13 

XII.    MEN   OF   THE   WORLD 67 

XIII.  A  GOOD  SOLDIER  OF  JESUS   CHRIST        ♦         .  .   181 

XIV.  A  MAN  IN  CHRIST      •••••••   I97 


Vlll 


Contents, 


XV.   KEEPING  THE   HEART  WITH   DILIGENCE 
XVI,   THE    RASH    PENKNIFE 
XVII.    PLANTS   GROWN   UP  IN  THEIR  YOUTH 
XVHI.    RIGHT,    BUT   NOT   PERFECT       .  • 

XIX.    NOT    FAR   FROM   THE   KINGDOM      • 
XX.   THE  ANCHOR   OF  THE   SOUL  . 


PAGE 

.   211 

.  22T, 

.  251 
.  265 
.   279 


A  YOUTH   VOID   OF  UNDERSTANDING, 


**  At  the  window  of  my  house  I  looked  through  my  casement ^  and 
beheld  among  the  simple  ones,  I  discerned  among  the  youths^  a  young 
man  void  of  understanding''' — Proverbs  vii.  6. 


A    YOUTH  VOID  OF  UNDERSTANDING, 

THE  sight  that  met  King  Solomon's  eye  as  he  sat  at 
the  window  of  his  palace  in  Jerusalem  is,  unfortu- 
nately, by  no  means  a  rare  one  in  our  own  time.  A  first- 
floor  window  in  a  main  street  of  any  of  our  great  towns 
may  afford  the  same  spectacle  any  day  of  the  year. 

Solomon,  you  must  remember,  was  not  only  a  monarch 
and  a  magistrate,  but  also  a  minister  and  a  moralist ;  and 
no  doubt  studied,  with  feelings  of  responsible  interest,  the 
manners  and  behaviour  of  the  people  over  whom  he  ruled. 

A  learned  and  accomplished  man  he  was,  but  pre- 
eminently a  student  of  character.  We  know  that  he 
grappled  with  all  departments  of  science — with  botany, 
for  example  ;  for  "  he  spake  of  trees,  from  the  cedar  that 
is  in  Lebanon  to  the  hyssop  that  springeth  out  of  the 
wall,"  from  the  majestic  pine  to  the  humblest  lichen  or 
moss ;  in  a  word,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  forms  of 
vegetation. 

With  natural  history,  for  "  he  spake  also  of  beasts,  and 
of  fowl,  and  of  creeping  things,  and  of  fishes  ;  "  that  is, 
of  the  four  grand  departments  of  animated  nature,  from 
the  annelida  to  the  higher  vertebrata. 

With  chemistry,  as  we  may  gather  from  many  a  hint  in 
his  writings,  and  from  the  echoes  of  a  tradition  not  yet 
extinct;  for  the  alchemists  were  wont  to  claim  him  as 


4  The  City  Youth, 

their  leader,  and  to  boast  of  his  accomplishments  in  their 
mystic  art. 

But,  whilst  he  gave  attention  to  material  science,  and 
with  a  museum  stocked  wdth  all  the  wonders  of  creation 
found  in  every  flower,  and  bird,  and  beast,  an  object  of 
research,  he  evidently  felt  that,  after  all,  "  the  noblest 
study  of  mankind  is  man ; "  his  forte  lay  in  the  direction 
of  moral  philosophy,  in  the  sense  of  the  philosophy  of 
morals ;  and  this  Book  of  Proverbs  is  the  grandest 
dissertation  ever  written  upon  the  theme. 

I  have  said  he  was  a  student  of  character;  and  here 
he  has  given  us  not  a  few  sketches,  drawn  to  the  life. 

Pacing  the  broad  piazza  which  for  centuries  continued 
to  be  named  after  him,  "  Solomon's  porch,"  or  sitting  at 
the  open  lattice  of  the  proud  palace  he  had  reared,  he 
had  ample  opportunity  for  studying  human  life  as  it 
existed  in  the  Capital ;  and  with  a  pen  dipped  in  more 
than  mortal  wisdom,  he  drew  many  a  striking  portrait, 
that  now  lies  before  me  on  these  pages,  fresh  as  when  it 
was  limned  three  thousand  years  ago. 

The  sluggard,  the  drunkard,  the  miser,  the  spend- 
thrift, the  tale-bearer,  the  libertine,  the  speculator,  the 
simpleton — each  passes  in  turn  before  his  observant  eye, 
and  each  receives,  as  he  deserves,  a  royal  castigation. 

As  I  read  our  graphic  text,  the  scene  is  all  before  me. 

There,  like  a  petrified  dream,  stands  the  regal  palace 
in  all  the  snowy  splendour  of  its  virgin  marble ;  and, 
looking  up,  I  see  at  yonder  window  the  sagacious  monarch 
gazing  intently  on  the  crowd  below. 

The  day  has  faded  into  twilight,  and  the  twilight  now 
melts  into  night,  and  the  lamps  are  lit ;  but  still,  fanned 
by  the  soft  evening  air,  and  spellbound  by  the  stirring 
scenes  beneath,  the  king,  unobserved,  sits  wrapt  in  con- 
templation. 


A   Youth   Void  of  Understandijig,  5 

With  his  own  eyes  he  sees — yes,  he  sees — the  artfulness 
of  the  tempter,  the  impudence  of  vice  ;  he  marks  the  trap 
set,  the  bait  taken,  and  the  fool  caught;  and,  on  the 
morrow,  as  he  writes  out  in  detail  the  humiliating  story, 
he  begins  with  these  words  of  my  text :  **  At  the  window 
of  my  house  I  looked  through  my  casement,  and  beheld 
among  the  simple  ones,  I  discerned  among  the  youths  a 
young  man  void  of  understanding." 

It  is  my  business  to  turn  Solomons  observation  to 
account  to  your  advantage;  and  I  learn,  first,  the  special 
perils  of  great  cities. 

Is  it  not  surprising  how  human  nature  remains  the 
same  in  every  age  ?  how  the  description,  written  thousands 
of  years  ago,  of  the  temptations  that  then  assailed  the 
youth  of  Jerusalem  and  Tyre,  and  other  cities  of  the  East, 
answers  so  precisely  to  what  we  see  in  our  own  day  ? 

The  counsels  and  warnings,  therefore,  of  the  ancient 
sage  are  as  valuable  and  fitting  as  ever. 

There  is  not  a  word  in  this  Book  of  Proverbs  that  is 
obsolete  or  out  of  date.  Young  man  !  don't  lay  your  Old 
Testament  upon  the  shelf,  as  if  it  were  superseded  by  the 
New.  The  brief  and  pithy  aphorisms  of  Solomon  were 
never  more  needed  than  now.  They  are,  in  the  words  of 
Tennyson, 

"Jewels,  five  words  long, 
That  on  the  stretch'd  forefinger  of  all  time, 
Sparkle  for  ever." 

Indeed,  the  moral  dangers  of  which  they  warn  you  have 
become  greatly  intensified.  The  vastness  and  multitudi- 
nousness  of  many  of  our  modern  cities  provide  a  secresy 
which  is  congenial  to  vice. 

Nowhere  is  it  so  easy  to  be  a  homo  incognitus  as  in 
London. 

In  yonder  little  village  or  clac^un,  where  you  spent  your 


6  The  City  Youth, 

early  days,  dared  you  take  a  forbidden  path,  you  were  at 
once  a  marked  man.  Every  house,  so  to  speak,  was  made 
of  glass ;  everybody  knew  his  neighbour ;  you  were  quite 
aware  that  one  false  step  might  be  the-  ruin  of  your 
character ;  and  you  were  closely  hedged  round  by  influ- 
ences that  greatly  robbed  temptation  of  its  power. 

But,  in  a  community  like  this,  these  influences  are 
unknown.  You  can  bury  yourself  in  the  metropolis  as 
completely  as  in  an  African  desert,  or  an  Indian  jungle, 
or  an  American  prairie.  You  can  elude  the  gaze  of  all 
woq  know  you. 

You  can  disappear  for  a  couple  of  days,  if  you  please  ; 
vanish  from  society  for  a  season,  and  crop  up  again  as  it 
suits  you.  You  can  plunge  into  a  vortex  of  iniquity,  and 
nobody  but  God  and  your  own  conscience  know  anything 
of  it. 

This  enormously  adds  to  the  power  of  temptation ;  that 
you  may  pluck  the  poisonous  fruit  unobserved.  Only 
keep  the  inward  monitor  quiet,  and  you  may  run  unde- 
tected and  unchallenged  into  every  excess. 

Then,  in  all  great  towns,  solicitations  to  vice  abound 
as  they  do  not  elsewhere.  Every  passion  has  a  tempter 
lying  in  wait  for  it. 

Whatever  be  your  temperament  or  constitution,  a  snare 
will  be  skilfully  laid  to  entrap  you.  Moreover,  vice 
clothes  itself  here  in  its  most  pleasing  attire,  and  not 
seldom  appears  even  under  the  garb  of  virtue. 

It  is  sometimes  said  that  great  cities  possess  great 
advantages.     So  they  do. 

Opportunities  of  intellectual  culture  ;  religious  privileges 
of  the  highest  order;  openings  for  usefulness  on  every 
side.  True  ;  but  till  the  character  is  decidedly  formed, 
how  little  do  these  avail  as  a  counterpoise  to  the  fascina- 
tions of  sin  ? 


A    Youih    Void  of  Understandi7ig.  7 

Ah !  one  would  have  thought  Jerusalem  was  the  place 
to  live  in— and  be  safe.  **  The  holy  city."  The  dwelling- 
place  of  God.  Jerusalem,  with  its  magnificent  temple, 
its  stately  services,  its  unceasing  devotions,  its  countless 
priests,  and  awe-inspiring  prophets  ! 

There,  you  would  suppose,  if  anywhere  on  earth,  virtue 
would  have  its  shrine,  and  profligacy  be  unknown. 

Yet,  from  yonder  window,  the  king  saw  what  brought 
the  blush  to  his  cheek.  Ay,  and  when,  a  thousand  years 
after,  **  a  greater  than  Solomon  "  made  His  entry  into  that 
city,  what  was  the  impression  that  was  made  upon  His 
mind  }  I  suppose  that,  as  Christ  came  down  the  slopes 
of  Olivet,  and  Jerusalem,  bathed  in  the  soft  sunlight,  burst 
upon  His  view,  with  its  glistening  domes,  and  minarets, 
and  palaces,  whilst  the  hum  of  its  busy  industr}'  fell  upon 
His  ear,  I  suppose  the  crowd  expected  to  see  transport 
and  exhilaration  in  His  face.  Was  it  so  }  Oh  no  !  Such 
a  vision  of  its  sin  rose  up  before  Him,  obliterating  the 
landscape  from  horizon  to  horizon,  that  He  burst  into 
tears  and  sobbed  aloud.  *'  He  beheld  the  city,  and  wept 
over  it." 

Ah !  think  you  not  that,  were  the  Son  of  man  on  earth 
to-day,  there  is  yet  more  in  the  sight  of  this  metropolis, 
to  bring  the  moisture  to  His  eyes  }  How  few  who  climb 
the  three  hundred  and  forty-five  steps  of  the  iMonument  of 
London,  and  from  that  dizzy  height  look  around  upon  the 
scene  below,  upon  the  miles  and  miles  of  affluent  streets, 
and  palatial  warehouses,  and  busy  markets,  think  of  the 
sins  and  sorrows  that  are  seething  there,  and  find  the  tear 
of  deepest  feeling  steal  down  their  cheek  ! 

And  yet,  who  knows  not,  that  beneath  the  fair  surface 
there  lies  hid  a  Pandemonium ! 

Young  man!  *'I  know  thy  works,  and  where  thou 
dwellest,  even  where  Satan's  seat  is." 


8  The  City  Youth. 

Secondly,  I  learn  from  this  passage  the  evil  of  late 
hours.  Verse  9  :  "In  the  twilight,  in  the  evening,  in  the 
black  and  dark  night."  Just  so.  The  devil,  like  the 
beast  of  prey,  stalks  forth  when  the  sun  goes  down. 
"  Every  one  that  doeth  evil,"  said  Christ,  **  hateth  the 
light."  As  darkness  settles  down  upon  the  city,  vice 
creeps  forth  from  her  secret  lurking-place,  and  foul  vermin 
in  human  form  crawl  the  streets.  ^Midnight  on  earth  is 
hell's  mid-noon.  London  asleep  }  No.  All  the  demons 
of  the  pit  holding  high  carnival.  Iniquity  wide  awake. 
Debauchery  awake.  Lust  awake.  Now  comes  the  ban- 
quet of  Bacchus.  Now  is  heard  the  click  of  the  gambler's 
dice,  and  the  thousand-voiced  shriek  of  loathsome  blas- 
phemy. Now  is  the  time  for  unlawful  amusements,  and 
mad  convivialities,  and  lascivious  revelry. 

Now  Jezebel  spreads  her  net,  and  Delilah  shears  the 
locks  of  Samson. 

Now  the  music  is  in  full  blast ;  the  dance  in  wildest 
whirl ;  the  wine  foaming  to  the  lip  of  the  glass. 

Now,  around  your  hotel  doors,  and  tavern  bars,  and 
theatre  gates,  there  hang  the  cormorants  of  darkness, 
incarnate  fiends  of  either  sex,  who  with  dexterous  insinua- 
tion make  friends  of  the  simple,  and  lure  them  off  into  the 
mouth  of  hell. 

Policeman  !  flash  your  lantern  on  that  face,  and  say  if 
its  leery  look  is  not  suggestive  of  the  pit. 

Hark  to  the  noisy  orgies  of  that  dancing  crew  who 
make  the  whole  house  shake  with  their  boisterous  mirth. 
Ah  !  not  all  those  peals  of  unclean  laughter  will  persuade 
me  that  there  is  not  misery  enough  within  some  of  those 
hearts  to  rival  the  agonies  of  the  place  of  woe. 

Oh  !  strange  place,  verily,  is  London  at  midnight  ?  As 
Big  Ben  booms  twelve,  Satan  empties  out  his  kennels  on 
our  streets,  and,  ere  the  morning  dawns,  a  work  of  moral 


A    Youth    Void  of  Jjnderstanding,  g 

havoc  and  ruin,  and  shame  and  devilry,  hath  been  wrought 
which  all  eternity  will  not  repair  nor  efface.  Young  men, 
take  it  kindly  when  I  bid  you  beware  of  late  hours.  Your 
health  forbids  it ;  your  principles  forbid  it ;  your  moral 
sense  forbids  it ;  your  safety  forbids  it.  Leave  that  latch- 
key at  home,  my  young  brother  ;  you  have  no  occasion  to 
need  it. 

Don't  tell  me  that  I'm  an  old  wife,  and  that  youth  must 
have  its  fling  and  spree.  No  man  with  a  grain  of  common- 
sense  will  misunderstand  my  appeal. 

I  maintain  that  purity  loves  the  light ;  and  I  have  seen 
it  over  and  over  again,  that  late  hours  have  proved  a  young 
man's  ruin.  Ah  !  I  might  tell  you  of  one,  as  promising 
a  lad  as  I  ever  had  under  my  ministry,  the  only  son  of  his 
mother,  and  she  a  widow,  who  in  an  evil  hour  began  to 
tamper  with  temptation.  I  took  him  to  be  a  Christian, 
and  looked  for  him  to  be  his  parent's  comfort  and  support ; 
but  he  began  to  be  late  of  returning  at  nights ;  hours  thiit 
should  have  been  spent  at  home  would  be  spent  at  the 
tavern-bar,  until  the  craving  was  begotten  ;  then  he  com- 
menced to  tamper  with  other  things  ;  tamper  with  truth, 
tamper  with  chastity,  tamper  with  his  master's  money  ; 
on  he  went  from  good  to  bad,  from  bad  to  worse,  from 
worse  to  worst,  till  the  spirit  was  broken,  and  the  healili 
shattered,  and  at  length  death  laid  its  hand  upon  hi.:; 
bloated  brow ;  and  for  many  a  month  thereafter  his  weep- 
ing mother  (who  has  since  died  of  a  broken  heart)  would 
take  out,  week  by  week,  a  few  flowers  to  yonder  cemeterv, 
and  scatter  them  on  his  grave ;  and  as  they  dropped  from 
her  fingers,  she  would  rend  the  air  with  her  bitter  wail, 
**  Oh,  Henry,  my  son,  my  son,  would  God  I  had  died  for 
thee,  my  son,  my  son  !  " 

Thirdly.  The  next  warning  given  in  the  text  is  the 
ddiiger  of  foolish  company,     *'  I  beheld  among  the  simple 


Tio  The  City  Youth. 

ones."  You  know  what  this  word  "  simple "  means  in 
the  Book  of  Proverbs:  silly,  frivolous,  idle,  abandoned. 
You  could  almost  predict  with  certainty  the  future  of  one 
who  selected  such  society.  **  He  that  walketh  with  wise 
men  shall  be  wise ;  but  the  companion  of  fools  shall  be 
destroyed."  Hardly  any  young  man  goes  to  a  place  of 
dissipation  alone.     At  least  at  first. 

Of  the  10,000  lads  that  every  year  go  to  the  bad  in 
London,  I  will  venture  to  assert  that  the  ruin  of  ninety 
per  cent,  is  due  to  bad  company.  We  all  want  company 
of  some  sort  or  another;  and  if  you  are  not  particular,  you 
will  get  plenty  of  it  here.  Specially  in  slack  times.  For 
the  past  year  or  two  trade  has  been  dull,  business  has 
been  bad.  Scores  of  young  men  can  get  nothing  to 
do.  And  idleness,  unhappily,  is  very  demoralising.  It 
inclines  a  man  to  rely  upon  others,  and  not  upon  himself; 
to  eat  their  bread,  and  not  his  own. 

It  often  amazes  me  how  so  many  men,  whom  we  see 
lounging  about  with  their  hands  in  their  pockets,  look  so 
fat  and  comfortable.  I  can  never  understand  how  they 
live,  much  less  how  they  are  able  to  indulge  in  this  and 
that  expensive  diversion  or  amusement. 

I  know  of  only  four  ways  of  getting  money ;  no  more. 
You  must  inherit  it ;  or  you  must  work  for  it ;  or  you  must 
beg  for  it ;  or — you  must  steal  it.  But  these  gentry  to 
whom  I  refer  certainly  have  not  inherited  money ;  they  do 
not  work  for  it ;  they  do  not  beg  ;  and — I  must  leave  with 
you  the  responsibility  of  saying  how  they  get  it. 

Always  give  a  wide  berth  to  lazy,  indolent  fellows,  who 
have  no  stomach  for  good  hard  work. 

Horatius  was  once  told  that  he  might  have  as  much 
land  as  he  could  plough  in  one  day  with  a  yoke  of  oxen  ; 
and  if  a  man  is  really  willing  to  throw  off  his  coat  and 
buckle  on  to  genuine  hard  work,  it  rarely  happens  that 


A    Youth    Void  of  Under stayiding,  1 1 

he  is  long  idle.  Don't  loiter  "among  the  simple  ones," 
unless  you  wish  to  be  reckoned  "  a  youth  void  of  under- 
standing." 

I  have  seen  stout,  hearty  young  men,  with  the  ruddy 
glow  of  country  health  on  their  cheeks,  and  the  odour  of 
the  farmhouse  or  the  peat  smoke  still  about  them,  evi- 
dently come  up  to  town  to  enter  business;  and  they  had 
not  been  here  three  weeks  before  they  were  set  upon  by 
these  vampires,  and  enticed  to  haunts  where  they  were 
robbed  of  all  purity  and  self-respect. 

The  worst  of  it  is,  that  it  is  commonly  the  finest  natures 
that  are  first  pounced  upon.  The  man  of  a  cold,  mean, 
stingy  temperament  is  let  alone.  It  is  the  good-hearted, 
amiable  fellow,  with  open  countenance,  and  warm  heart, 
and  generous  disposition,  that  is  at  once  seized  by  these 
vermin  of  the  pit,  and  poisoned  with  every  kind  of  pollu- 
tion. You  buoyant  and  exhilarant  natures,  full  of  fun 
and  frolic,  ready  with  your  wit,  and  song,  and  hearty 
laughter,  I  tell  you,  it  is  you  that  are  specially  in 
danger. 

You  had  better  take  care  with  whom  you  associate. 
There  are  men  who  will  fawn  upon  you,  and  flatter  you, 
and  call  you  good  company,  and  patronise  you  wonder- 
fully, and  take  you  anywhere  you  wish  to  go  ;  and — allow 
you  to  pay  all  expenses. 

Don't  laugh,  for  it  is  perfectly  true.  It  is  always  the 
case,  that  if  a  good  lad  and  a  bad  lad  go  together  to  some 
place  they  had  better  avoid,  it  is  the  former  that  has  to 
settle  the  bill.  The  other  fumbles  in  his  pocket  for  his 
purse,  but  it  is  never  forthcoming  at  the  right  moment. 

As  a  rule,  a  companion  of  loose  character  is  the  most 
mean  and  selfish  of  creatures.  He  will  slap  you  familiarly 
on  the  shoulder,  in  the  "  Hail  fellow,  well  met "  style ; 
and  then  he  will  bleed  you,  and  poison  you,  and  dupe  you, 


12  The  City  Youth, 

until  he  has  got  out  of  you  all  he  can,  when  he  will  cast 
you  off,  and  search  for  another  victim. 

Oh  !  there  is  not  a  day  but  some  "  green-horn  "  is 
thus  caught  and  wheedled,  to  discover,  too  late,  what  a 
simpleton  he  has  been.  What  is  insanely  called  *'  the 
social  glass  "  has  carried  more  men  to  destruction  than  all 
the  arsenic  and  strychnine  in  the  world. 

I  am  not  forgetting,  dear  lads,  that  many  of  you  meet 
with  a  special  class  of  temptations,  hardly  known  by 
those  who  can  come  home  of  an  evening  to  their  warm 
domestic  circle.  It  is  somewhat  freezing,  when  your 
day's  work  is  over,  to  have  nowhere  to  go  to  but  a  solitary 
lodging. 

Your  social  instincts  must  have  play.  And  I  think  the 
happy  Christian  families  of  London  might  do  a  little  more 
than  they  do,  in  throwing  open  their  doors,  and  offering 
hospitality,  to  friendless  young  men  of  high  principle  and 
unblemished  character. 

Lodgings  may  be  very  comfortable,  and  landladies  very 
kind  ;  but  you  do  want  sometimes  to  sit  at  a  table  where 
three  or  four  are  gathered  round  in  an  innocent  game  or 
in  lively  chit-chat. 

You  want  occasionally  to  make  one  of  a  merry  group 
around  the  cozy  fireside.  It  is  good  for  us  all  to  have  a 
hearty  romp  with  the  little  ones,  and  even  to  submit  to  the 
teasing  and  bantering  of  those  who  are  wicked  enough  to 
laugh  at  some  of  our  rustic  angularities. 

You  are  far  away,  some  of  you,  from  the  dearest  circle 
you  know  on  earth.  God  bless  every  bright  and  pious 
household  in  the  metropolis  that  offers  you  a  smiling 
welcome  ! 

Now,  serious  as  are  the  perils  of  the  great  city,  and  the 
dark  night,  and  evil  company,  a  youth  of  intelligence  and 
Christian  principle  may  escape  them,  and  pass  scatheless 


A    Youth    Void  of  Understanding,  13 

through  them ;  but — **  a  3'oung  man  void  of  understand- 
ing !  "  why,  he  has  not  a  chance. 

Solomon  looked  down  from  his  palace  window,  and 
beheld — what  ?  a  fool !  A  silly,  senseless  youth,  with  no 
mind  of  his  own,  with  no  command  of  his  will,  the  slave  of 
his  passions,  ready  to  be  entrapped. 

Such  a  young  gentleman  is  no  rara  avis  in  this  city.  I 
daresay,  if  his  portrait  were  taken,  you  would  see  him, 
with  hat  at  an  angle  of  forty-five  degrees,  showy  scarf- 
pin  that  cost  exactly  ii|:/.,  gilt-headed  cane,  and  hands 
'plunged  into  his  breeches'  pockets. 

**  A  young  man  void  of  understanding" — what  a  pitiful 
description !    God's  noblest  handiwork  wrecked  and  ruined. 

What  does  the  inspired  sage  mean  by  "understanding"  ? 
It  is  more  than  wisdom  ;  it  is  more  than  knowledge  ;  it  is 
both,  and  something  beside.  By  all  means  get  wisdom, 
get  knowledge  ;  *'  but,  with  all  thy  getting,  get  under- 
standing." It  is  a  mind  well  balanced  by  the  grace  of 
God  ;  it  is  the  highest  form  of  common  sense,  sanctified 
by  a  genuine  piety. 

No  man's  understanding  can  be  called  thoroughly  sound 
until  it  has  been  brought  under  the  power  of  the  truth  as 
it  is  in  Jesus.  Your  only  security  against  the  perils  of  the 
city,  of  the  dark  night,  and  of  evil  company,  your  only 
safety  amid  the  lusts  that  attack  the  flesh,  and  the 
scepticisms  that  assail  the  mind,  is  a  living  faith  in  God, 
a  spiritual  union  with  Christ. 

I  tell  you,  young  brother,  you  must  have  a  religion  of 
some  kind.  You  cannot  do  without  it.  Men  have  tried 
to  get  on  without  any  religion,  but  have  found  it  won't  do. 

The  very  multiplicity  of  false  religions  only  shows  that 
a  faith  of  some  kind  is  necessary. 

Unless  you  can  make  me  believe  you  have  no  soul,  I 
will  not  believe  you  can  do  without  a  religion. 


14  Tne  City  Youth, 

Some  of  you  are  daily  confronted  with  infidelity.  You 
meet  it  in  your  workshops  ;  it  assails  you  in  the  street. 

Well,  what  has  it  ever  done  for  the  world,  or  for 
humanity  ?  Are  you  enamoured  of  it,  for  its  beauty  and 
beneficence  ?  Some  time  since,  in  the  Hall  of  Science,  a 
mere  youth  stood  up  and  said,  "  I  renounce  my  mother's 
teaching.  I  renounce  my  mother's  Bible.  I  renounce 
my  mother's  faith,"  till  even  Charles  Bradlaugh  said,  **  Stay, 
young  man.     Not  so  fast." 

David  Livingstone,  the  great  explorer,  said  that,  having 
lived  with  men  of  all  sorts  of  creeds  and  faiths,  he  was  satis- 
fied that  the  very  worst  form  of  religion  was  better  than  none. 

Oh,  pause,  my  friend,  before  you  lay  to  one  side  this 
grand  old  Book,  that  has  lifted  up  millions  out  of 
barbarism,  and  has  kindled  in  yonder  firmament  the  only 
star  of  hope  for  our  peiishing  race. 

If  there  be  one  of  you  whose  feet  have  wandered  from 
the  right  way,  I  beckon  you  back  to  the  faith  you  have 
forsaken  and  the  Saviour  you  have  despised.  In  the  name 
of  God,  I  bid  you  shake  yourself  free  of  all  your  dreary 
infidelities,  and  accept  the  Gospel  that  your  father  loved, 
and  that  smoothed  the  last  pillow  of  your  sainted  mother. 
Perhaps  you  look  to  me  and  say,  **  Ah,  sir,  you  know 
nothing  of  our  doubts  and  difficulties." 

Brother,  I  know  them  all.  I  have  sailed  through  seas 
of  darkness  and  speculation  till  I  questioned  whether  there 
be  a  personal  God,  whether  my  soul  is  immortal,  whether 
this  Bible  is  Divine.  I  have  drifted  on  waves  of  doubt  till 
the  land  was  almost  out  of  sight ;  but,  thank  God,  He  has 
brought  me  through  the  tempest  and  the  gloom  to  the 
quiet  harbour  of  evangelical  trust. 

It  is  no  unreasoning,  sentimental  emotion,  but  a  firm, 
intelligent  faith  on  which  I  find  I  can  live,  and  on  which 
I  mean  to  die. 


A   Youth    l^id  of  UncLrstanding.  15 

And  now,  in  His  name,  I  call  aloud  to  any  of  you  who 
are  tossing  on  the  wild,  tempestuous  main  of  unbelief,  or 
are  like  to  be  whelmed  in  the  vortex  of  passion  : — There 
is  a  rock  of  safety,  there  is  a  harbour  of  repose  ;  come 
and  find  rest  unto  your  souls !     Amen. 


A  YOUNG  MAN  FROM  THE   COUNTRY. 


**  Behold^  I  have  seen  a  son  of  Jesse  the  Bethlehemite,  that  is  cunning 
in  playing^  and  a  7iiighty  valiant  man^  and  a  man  of  war,  and  prudent 
in  matters,  and  a  comely  person,  and  the  Lord  is  with  hitn,"— 
I  Samuel  xvi.  i8. 


II. 

A    YOUNG  MAN  FROM  THE  COUNTRY, 

KING  SAUL  wished  to  engage  a  Court  minstrel.  He 
wasn't  well ;  he  had  a  malady  of  the  nerves,  or  of 
the  temper,  or  probably  both  :  and  sweet  music  seemed 
to  soothe  him,  and  charm  the  trouble  away.  So  he 
wanted  a  skilful  player,  and  a  presentable  sort  of  man 
moreover,  who  could  go  out  and  come  in  before  him. 

Not  a  doubt,  a  good  salary  would  attach  to  the  office. 
When  monarchs  take  whims  they  have  generally  to  pay 
for  them. 

Whether  he  advertised  for  a  suitable  person  I  cannot 
say;  but  one  of  his  subordinate  officers  happened  to  be 
acquainted  with  a  young  man  who  seemed  to  be  just  what 
was  wanted  ;  so  he  came  to  the  king,  and  said  to  him, 
"  May  it  please  your  Majesty,  I  have  just  seen  a  young 
man  who  will  meet  the  case ;  he  is  a  farmer's  son, 
belonging  to  Bethlehem,  and  he  possesses  these  various 
qualifications  :  he  is  cunning  in  playing,  and  a  mighty 
valiant  man,  and  man  of  war,  and  prudent  in  matters,  and 
a  comely  person,  and  the  Lord  is  with  him." 

Now,  many  testimonials  which  young  men  carry  about 
with  them  are  hardly  worth  the  paper  on  which  they  are 
written  ;  but  this  certificate  of  character  is  so  genuine 
and  so  comprehensive,  that  it  is  worth  our  looking  into 
for  a  little. 


20   •  The  Ctiy   Youth. 

There  is  not  a  single  historical  personage  before  the 
Christian  era  of  whom  we  know  so  much  as  we  do  of 
David  !  His  life  fills  a  larger  space  in  the  Bible  than  that 
of  any  other  man.  As  the  shepherd,  the  fugitive,  the 
Court  favourite,  the  minstrel,  the  psalmist,  the  king,  the 
warrior,  his  history  is  full  of  incidents  which,  in  modern 
language,  might  truly  be  called  "  sensational ; "  it  is 
crowded  with  events  more  strange  and  stirring  than  are 
commonly  depicted  on  the  stage,  or  woven  into  the  pages 
of  romance. 

In  our  passage  we  meet  v/ith  him  as  still  but  a  young 
man ;  and  there  are  five  distinct  things  mentioned  about 
him,  which  you  may  find  it  interesting  and  useful  to 
consider. 

Slightly  altering  the  order  for  the  sake  of  convenience, 
I  shall  take  them  thus,  and  the  alliteration  (for  there  are 
five  P's)  may  help  your  memory  : — his  person,  his  pastime, 
his  patriotism,  his  prudence,  and  his  piety.  His  person, 
or  physical  form,  described  as  "  comely,"  or  attractive  ; 
his  pastime,  or  favourite  accomplishment,  which  was 
music,  for  he  was  **  cunning  (or  skilful)  in  playing;  "  his 
patriotism,  "  a  mighty  valiant  man,  and  man  of  war ; " 
his  prudence,  he  is  described  as  **  prudent  in  matters  ; " 
and  last,  but  not  least,  his  piety,  "  and  the  Lord  is  with 
him." 

We  begin  at  the  lowest,  and  advance  to  the  highest. 
•    I.  I  wish  to  say  something  to  you  about  his  persoity  his 
pleasing  and  attractive  presence  or  address. 

Some  one  says  to  me,  *'  You  may  pass  over  this  matter, 
it  is  a  point  of  little  importance."  I  beg  your  pardon  ;  it 
is  not  a  point  of  little  importance. 

Certainly,  a  great  deal  of  emphasis  is  laid  upon  it  here ; 
again  and  again  the  inspired  penman  calls  attention  to  it. 

Don't   think   for   a   moment    that    I    would    encourage 


A   Young  Alan  fro7]i  the  Coimtry,         2 1 

personal  vanity,  or  have  men  much  taken  up  about  their 
outward  appearance  ;  we  have  a  check  to  that  folly  in 
the  words  we  were  reading  to-night,  "  j\Ian  looketh  on 
the  outward  appearance,  but  the  Lord  looketh  on  the 
heart." 

A  man  may  have  a  very  shabby  exterior,  and  yet  be  a 
true  nobleman. 

M.  Renan  speaks  of  St.  Paul  disrespectfully  indeed,  but 
perhaps  truthfully,  as  "  the  ugly  little  Jew  :  "  and  yet,  we 
all  know  that  though  "his  bodily  presence"  may  have 
been  **  weak,"  that  man  had  moral  weight  enough  to 
shake  the  world. 

There  are  deformed  men,  and  dwarfs,  and  cripples,  who 
command  instant  and  profound  respect ;  whilst  there  are 
fine-looking,  strapping  fellows,  who  are  only  big  boobies. 
Sometimes,  though  the  casket  is  very  poor,  there  is  a 
glorious  jewel  within. 

No  one,  then,  will  be  so  stupid  as  to  misunderstand 
what  I  am  going  to  say  about  David's  person. 

Well,  the  Bible  is  emphatic  in  celling  us  that  he  was  a 
remarkably  good-looking  young  man. 

Strange  enough,  we  have  so  full  a  description  of  him, 
that  I  verily  believe,  if  I  had  brush  and  colours  beside  me, 
I  could  dash  off  a  tolerably  accurate  sketch. 

Not  very  tall.  In  this  respect  his  eldest  brother,  Eliab, 
had  the  advantage  of  him.  It  is  clear  that  the  prophet 
Samuel  was  struck  with  the  height  of  his  stature. 

Perhaps  it  was  just  as  well  that  David  was  of  moderate 
height,  as  he  contrasted  the  more  strikingly  with  Saul, 
whom  he  supplanted,  and  with  Goliath,  whom  he 
beheaded. 

The  1 2th  verse  states  that  "he  was  ruddy,  and  withal 
of  a  beautiful  countenance,  and  goodly  to  look  to."  Our 
text  describes   him  as    "  a  comely  person,"    and   in  the 


22  The  City  Youth, 

next  chapter  it  is  again  asserted  that  he  was  "ruddy, 
and  of  a  fair  countenance." 

A  fine,  fresh,  healthy  complexion.  A  stout,  square- 
built,  manly  fellow. 

He  had  an  admirable  physique ;  had  his  head  screwed 
on  the  right  way;  and  was  of  immense  strength  and 
agility. 

He  was  a  powerful  athlete  ;  so  swift  in  running  that  his 
feet  were  "  like  hinds'  feet ; "  so  strong  in  muscle,  that 
even  **  a  bow  of  steel  was  broken  by  his  arms  ; "  and 
withal  so  lithe  and  nimble,  that  with  one  vault  he  *'  could 
leap  over  a  wall." 

A  splendid  fellow,  thoroughly  manly  in  his  bearing, 
and  so  courageous  that,  whether  it  was  a  giant  that  stood 
in  his  way,  or  a  lion,  or  a  bear,  he  was  not  afraid  to 
grapple  with  him. 

There  was  nothing  effeminate  about  him.  Although 
the  youngest  of  eight  sons,  and  as  pet  of  the  family  called 
David  (which  means  darling),  he  bore  no  features  of  a 
spoiled  child,  but  on  the  contrary,  was  as  noble  and 
chivalrous  in  character,  as  he  was  handsome  and  comely 
in  person. 

Perhaps  you  would  be  surprised  to  see,  in  running 
through  the  Bible,  how  frequent  is  the  allusion  to  bodily 
form.  Why,  I  could  give  you  quite  a  string  of  names  of 
persons,  both  male  and  female,  who  are  described  as 
having  been  "comely"  to  look  to. 

The  body,  no  doubt,  is  but  the  tabernacle,  the  shell ; 
but  don't  despise  it ;  it  bears  the  stamp  and  image  of  God. 

Many  of  us,  it  is  true,  have,  in  this  respect,  nothing  to 
be  vain  of;  but,  nevertheless,  we  can  do  a  good  deal,  by 
personal  tidiness,  and  discipline,  and  culture,  towards 
self-improvement.  Slovenliness  is  often  stamped  upon  a 
Hian's  outward  perh'on.      There  are  boors  that  seem  not 


A   Young  Man  from  the  Cou7itry.         22i 

to  have  an  idea  of  polite  manners  or  gentlemanly  bearing. 
Their  slouching  gait  and  uncouth  habits  repel  every  one 
who  has  a  spark  of  refinement  in  him. 

You  may  have  nothing  to  boast  of,  either  as  to  figure  or 
birth,  and  yet  be  every  inch  a  gentleman. 

But  suppose  a  man  has  a  fine  physique,  he  had  better 
retire  into  his  own  heart,  and  ask  himself  a  question  or 
two.  Ought  not  the  animal  to  be  the  expression  of  the 
spiritual  ?  Should  there  not  be  some  correspondence 
between  the  body  and  the  mind  }  Ought  a  man  to  have 
a  noble  head,  and  nothing  in  it }  Or  a  handsome  face, 
but  a  deformed  soul  } 

The  prominent  feature  about  David  is  his  manliness. 
No  littleness  about  him. 

He  was  **  a  young  man  from  the  country."  None  the 
worse  for  that. 

As  I  read  the  story  of  his  life,  I  smell  the  breath  of  the 
new- mown  hay,  and  I  hear  the  bkatings  on  the  Bethle- 
hem hills. 

A  good  many  of  us  have  come  from  the  country.  And 
some  are  silly  enough  to  be  ashamed  of  it. 

Be  proud  of  it.  Be  proud  if  you  know  all  about  yoking 
the  horses  and  herding  the  cattle,  or  even  (as  Mr.  Glad- 
stone said  one  day  when  addressing  the  young  men  of 
Glasgow  University)  about  blowing  the  country  forge,  or 
keeping  the  toll-gate. 

A  thousand  times  rather  an  honest,  ruddy,  country  lad 
like  David,  though  smelling  of  the  hay  or  heather,  than 
your  smart  town  dandy  (made  up  of  ring,  cane,  and  cigar, 
and  perfumed  with  musk  or  lavender),  whose  very  gait 
seems  to  tell  how  large  is  his  conceit,  and  how  scanty  are 
(lis  brains !  This  is  all  I  have  to  say  about  David's 
person. 

II.  But  now  for  a  few  words,  secondly,  upon  \i\^  pasiim^ 


24  The  City  Youth. 

Every  sensible  man  must  have  some  pastime.  We  can- 
not be  always  working.  We  are  not  mere  machines;  both 
body  and  mind  demand  occasional  relaxation. 

Some  of  us,  to  be  sure,  have  but  little  time  for  it ;  all 
the  more  needful  to  make  good  use  of  what  we  have. 

Well,  David's  favourite  pastime  was  music.  He  had 
evidently  quite  a  genius  for  it.  Our  text  tells  us  he  was 
**  cunning  in  playing."  From  many  a  testimony,  we  learn 
that  he  could  finger  the  harp  with  singular  dexterity. 
Long  before  his  wonderful  musical  talent  brought  him 
under  the  notice  of  King  Saul,  he  would  relieve  the 
monotony  of  his  shepherd-life  by  the  sweet  strains  of  his 
lyre,  and  would  make  the  peaceful  valleys  of  Judah  to 
resound  with  melody. 

Nor  was  his  gift  only  instrumental.  He  not  merely 
played,  but  sang.  He  was  called  **the  sweet  singer  of 
Israel ; "  and  there  is  a  passage  in  the  apocryphal  book 
Ecclesiasticus,  which  says,  *'  With  his  whole  heart  he  sang 
songs,  and  praised  Him  that  made  him." 

So  passionately  devoted  was  he  to  the  art,  that  he  even 
invented  and  constructed  musical  instruments  for  himself; 
for  you  remember  the  Prophet  Amos  speaks  of  those  who 
**  invent  to  themselves  instruments  of  music,  like  David." 

In  the  LXX  version  of  the  Old  Testament — that  copy 
of  it  from  which  our  Lord  and  His  Apostles  generally 
quoted — I  find,  strange  to  say,  an  additional  Psalm  to  the 
hundred  and  fifty  in  our  Bibles. 

I  was  reading  it  the  other  day ;  would  you  like  to 
hear  it  ? 

It  is  entitled  *'A  genuine  Psalm  of  David."  "Small 
was  I  among  my  brethren,  and  youngest  in  my  father's 
house ;  I  tended  my  father's  sheep.  IMy  hands  formed  a 
muoical  instrument,  and  my  fingers  tuned  a  psaltery.  And 
who  shall  tell  my  Lord  }    The  Lord  Himself,  He  hears. 


A    Young  Man  from  the  Coimtry,         25 

He  sent  forth  His  angel,  and  took  me  from  my  fatner's 
sheep,  and  He  anointed  me  with  the  oil  of  His  anointing. 
My  brothers  were  handsome  and  tall ;  but  the  Lord  did 
not  delight  in  them.  I  went  forth  to  meet  the  Philistine, 
and  he  cursed  me  by  his  idols.  But  I  drew  his  own  sword 
and  beheaded  him,  and  removed  reproach  from  the 
children  of  Israel.     Praise  ye  the  Lord." 

Well,  I  want  you  to  observe  that  David  consecrated  this 
great  gift  of  his  to  the  highest  ends,  and  that  he  found 
music  to  be  most  enjoyable  when  it  was  linked  with  sacred 
themes. 

What  a  pity,  that  so  sublime  a  gift  is  often  prostituted 
to  ignoble  ends  !  What  a  shame,  that  it  is  so  frequently 
consecrated  to  the  devil ! 

And,  what  vile  rubbish  you  do  sometimes  listen  to,  under 
the  name  of  music  ! 

I\Iy  dear  friends  of  both  sexes  (for  there  are  really  few, 
either  young  men  or  young  women,  who  have  not  some 
musical  talent),  cultivate  your  voices,  and  make  the  best 
use  of  them  you  can.  What  are  we  to  think  of  those 
people  who  sing  with  all  the  skill  at  their  command  at 
their  little  social  parties  and  domestic  gatherings,  but 
keep  their  lips  closed  in  the  House  of  God  ?  If  you  have 
any  gift  of  this  sort,  should  not  the  Lord  have  the  best 
of  it  } 

Learn  from  this  young  man  of  Bethlehem. 

Sacred  music  is  the  grandest  of  all  music.  In  ancient 
times  there  were  no  strains  to  compare  with  those  of 
Judah's  minstrelsy;  and  the  demand  even  of  the  heathen 
strangers  was,  '*  Sing  us  one  of  the  songs  of  Zion." 

The  Hundredth  Psalm,  sung  to  the  tune  of  **Old 
Hundredth,"  has  more  majesty  than  anything  to  be  listened 
to  in  all  the  music-halls  of  Europe. 

The   grand    chorales  of  Luther  did  quite  as   much  as 


26  The  City  Youth. 

his  preaching,  to  arouse  the  people  from  their  slumber  of 
spiritual  death. 

Now,  hundreds  of  you  are  crazy  about  music.  It  is 
your  chief  pastime.  And  an  elevating  one  it  is,  if  wisely 
directed  and  controlled. 

By  all  means  cultivate  it ;  have  your  voices  trained ;  and 
if  possible  learn  to  play  the  flute,  or  the  violin,  or  the 
piano,  or  the  organ  ;  but,  above  all,  make  it  your  chiefest 
aim,  as  David  did,  to  employ  the  faculty  in  the  service 
and  for  the  glory  of  God. 

III.  I  point  you  now  to  his  patriotism. 

The  text  calls  him  *'  a  mighty  valiant  man,  and  a  man 
of  war ; "  but  I  must  have  you  notice  that  David's  courage 
and  chivalry  were  not  confined  to  camps  and  battlefields, 
but  characterised  his  whole  life. 

If  ever  man  loved  his  country,  it  was  he.  If  ever  there 
was  a  noble,  chivalrous,  magnanimous,  unselfish  spirit,  it 
was  he. 

His  heroic  fearlessness  of  danger  was  constantly  put  to 
the  proof. 

Like  Paul,  he  was  truly  "  in  perils  oft."  What  with 
encounters  with  wild  beasts,  attacks  by  treacherous  men, 
and  wars  without  number,  he  was  always  getting  into 
danger;  and  every  one  must  notice  that  his  Psalms  are 
full  of  imagery  taken  from  slipping  down  precipices, 
hiding  in  rocks  and  caves,  and  so  forth  ;  indicating  many 
hairbreadth  escapes,  and  a  spirit  of  dauntless  and  in- 
vincible ardour. 

The  truth  is,  that,  where  his  country's  interests  were  at 
stake,  his  life  was  at  its  service. 

No  mere  ambitious  self-seeker  was  David ;  he  was  as 
genuine  a  patriot  as  ever  lived. 

Now,  I  deem  it  not  beyond  my  province,  to  commend 
to  you  this  elem.ent  of  his  character. 


A   Young  Man  from  the  Country.         27 

A  prosaic,  money-making  age  (when  competition  js 
excessive,  and  multitudes  are  at  their  wits'  end  to  provide 
for  themselves  a  living),  is  not,  perhaps,  the  most  favour- 
able for  the  development  of  heroism.  We  are  called  *'a 
nation  of  shop-keepers ;  "  and  we  have  no  reason  to  take 
oifence  at  the  title,  so  long  as  we  do  not  allow  ourselves 
to  be  wholly  absorbed  with  trade  and  the  pursuit  of  gain. 

True  men,  nature's  noblemen,  are  scarce  ;  and  Gold- 
smith was  right  when  he  said  : — 

"  111  fares  the  land,  to  hastening  ills  a  prey, 
When  wealth  accumulates,  and  men  decay." 

A  healthy  and  unselfish  public  spirit  needs  to  be 
cultivated. 

We  want  a  larger  number  of  young  men,  who,  not 
content  to  see  their  country's  honour  and  weal  in  the 
hands  of  a  select  few,  are  ambitious  of  contributing  their 
quota  to  the  formation  of  a  healthy  public  opinion  ;  and 
will  willingly  bear  burdens,  and  take  rubs,  and  forego 
conveniences,  if  they  can  in  any  way  advance  the  national 
welfare.  I  am  not  going  to  touch  upon  politics ;  but  to 
whatever  political  camp  you  belong,  remember  there  are 
religious  questions,  educational  questions,  social  questions, 
which  claim  your  thoughtful  attention  ;  ay,  and  there  are 
services,  which,  however  humble  be  your  sphere,  you  may 
hope  to  be  able  to  render  to  your  country  and  the  State. 

I  believe  that  the  large  extension  of  the  electorate  will 
lead  to  a  more  widely-diffused  interest  amongst  the  people 
in  important  subjects  which  used  to  be  canvassed  only  by 
a  select  few ;  and  that,  among  young  men  particularly, 
the  spirit  of  an  intelligent  patriotism  will  be  intensified ; 
and  even  a  laudable  ambition  awakened  to  have  a  place, 
in  time,  in  the  highest  council  of  the  nation. 

There  must  be  some  here  who  well  remember  how, 
during  the  Franco-Prussian  War,  many  a  young  German, 


28  The  City  Youth. 

knowing  his  country  was  likely  to  be  invaded,  hurried 
home  from  a  safe  and  lucrative  position  in  England  and 
America,  to  take  his  place  in  the  line  of  battle,  and,  if 
need  be,  pay  the  penalty  with  his  life.  And  when  the 
war  rolled  over  into  France,  many  a  young  Frenchman 
went  from  quiet  homes  in  distant  and  safe  parts  of  his  own 
land,  to  march  with  disorganised  armies,  and  under  doubt- 
ful generalship,  through  great  and  constant  hardships ; 
destined,  alas  !  to  find  in  a  few  weeks  a  nameless  grave. 

Well,  they  only  did  their  duty.  And  I  am  as  certain 
as  I  am  of  my  own  existence,  that  there  are  scores  of 
young  patriots  here,  who,  under  similar  circumstances, 
would  do  precisely  the  same. 

But,  happily,  patriotism  does  not  always  demand  the 
battlefield  for  its  exhibition.  There  are  bloodless  achieve- 
ments within  the  reach  of  all  of  you,  by  which  you  can 
nobly  serve  your  fatherland. 

And  let  me  say  this,  that  the  first  and  most  obvious 
duty  which  a  man  owes  to  the  commonwealth  is  to  see 
that  he  is  no  burden  to  it. 

In  fact,  it  is  in  vigilant  industry  and  sound  common- 
sense,  employed  about  a  man's  daily  calling,  that  he  makes 
his  first  contribution  to  the  nation's  wealth  and  weal. 

Ay,  there  are  battles  to  be  fought  in  Cornhill  and 
Lombard  treet,  in  Manchester  and  Liverpool,  and  thou- 
sands of  other  places  at  home,  that  demand  a  persever- 
ance, a  pluck,  and  a  heroism,  quite  as  great  as  though  you 
were  summoned,  with  rifle  and  knapsack,  to  the  jungles  of 
Burmah  or  the  mountains  of  Afghanistan. 

Only  possess,  as  did  David  when  but  a  stripling,  the 
true  spirit  of  the  patriot,  and  I  undertake  to  say  your  life 
will  not  be  spent  without  the  opportunity  of  serving 
your  country  and  your  "■  generation  by  the  will  of  God  ere 
you  fall  on  sleep." 


A   Young  Man  from  the  Country,         2C) 

IV.  I  point  you  now  to  his  prudence. 

The  text  describes  him  as  "  prudent  in  matters  " — i.e.,  a 
young  man  of  sound  judgment,  of  sterling  common-sense. 

This  is  a  wonderful  recommendation  to  a  man,  no 
matter  what  kind  of  ofiice  he  has  to  fill. 

Next  to  piety — and  we  are  coming  to  that  immediately 
— there  is  no  endowment  more  valuable  than  what  in 
England  goes  by  the  name  of  good  common-sense. 

A  man  may  have  brilliant  talent,  extensive  learning, 
dashing  cleverness,  and  even  undoubted  genius ;  and  yet, 
for  all  that,  if  he  has  not  the  other  thing,  he  may  turn  out 
in  business  a  fool,  and  his  life  prove  an  utter  failure. 

Now,  you  cannot  read  the  life  of  David  without  seeing 
how  justly  he  merited  the  recommendation  that  he  was 
'*  prudent  in  matters." 

Even  as  a  mere  lad  he  showed  singular  judgment. 
Many  a  youth  would  have  fairly  lost  his  head  when  taken 
from  the  sheep-folds  to  the  palace.  David  didn't.  Three 
times  over  it  is  declared  of  him  that  **  he  behaved  him- 
self wisely." 

There  wasn't  a  bit  of  conceit  about  him.  For  one 
thing  he  was  never  ashamed  of  his  somewhat  humble 
birth.  Indeed,  he  seemed  to  glory  in  it.  He  was  con- 
stantly alluding  to  the  matter,  speaking  of  himself  as 
"taken  from  the  sheep-folds,  from  following  the  ewes 
great  with  young."  "Who  am  I,  O  Lord  God,  and  what 
is  my  house,  that  Thou  hast  brought  me  hitherto .?" 

One  thing  I  particularly  notice  about  him  is  the  care  he 
took  of  his  aged  father  and  mother.  Knocked  about  the 
world  himself,  and  stepping  from  one  elevation  to  another, 
he  never  forgot  the  old  folks  at  home ;  for  we  are  told  in 
the  twenty-second  chapter,  that  "he  went  to  Mizpeh  of 
Moab,  and  he  said  unto  the  King  of  Moab,  Let  my  father 
and  my  mother,  I  pray  thee,  come  forth,  and  be  with  thee, 


o  The  City  Youth, 


o 

till  I  know  what  God  will  do  with  me.  And,"  it  is  added, 
**  he  brought  them  before  the  King  of  Moab ;  and  they 
dwelt  with  him  all  the  while  that  David  was  in  the  hold." 
,  Is  there  anything  more  contemptible  than  for  a  young 
man  who  has  risen  a  bit  in  the  world  to  be  ashamed  of 
his  lowly  origin  ? 

Perhaps  he  is  now  in  a  bank,  or  in  a  merchant's  office  ; 
but  his  father  is  a  small  crofter  in  a  Highland  glen,  or 
keeps  a  little  shop  in  a  country  village,  or  earns  his  living 
as  an  honest  blacksmith  ;  and  my  young  gentleman  would 
not  for  all  the  world  that  that  were  known !  Out  upon 
such  mean-spirited  snobbishness  ! 

I  sometimes  hear  it  said  that  the  weak  side  of  young 
men  is  very  weak,  and  I  am  forced  to  believe  it. 

There  is  indeed  no  class  of  animal  for  whom  I  have  a 
more  sovereign  contempt  than  the  fops  and  puppies,  the 
smart  young  blades,  who  are  ever  studying  their  gold 
rings  through  an  eye-glass  stuck  in  one  eye,  and  whose 
peculiar  expression  of  face  conveys  the  idea  that  the 
whole  world  has  a  bad  smell  to  them. 

Bah  !  such  idiocy  !  I  deny  to  such  creatures  the  name 
of  men. 

I  trust,  my  robust  and  manly  hearers,  you  will  give  them 
a  wide  berth  ;  do  not  associate  with  them  ;  and  always 
remember  what  is  commanded  in  the  Law  of  Moses 
against  the  harnessing  of  an  ox  and  ass  together. 

** Prudent  in  matters."  This  word  ''prudent"  is  just  a 
contradiction  of  **  provident,"  and  provident  literally  means 
looking  before  you,  providing  for  the  future. 

The  one  hundred  and  twelfth  Psalm  is  just  a  portrait  of 
a  wise  and  righteous  man  ;  and  in  it  David  says  that  such 
a  person  will  '*  guide  his  affairs  with  discretion,"  and  in 
consequence,  "  will  not  be  afraid  of  evil  tidings."     If  you 


A   You72g  Man  from  the  Country.         3 1 

are  prudent  in  your  affairs,  you  will  not  spend  all  you  earn 
upon  immediate  gratification,  but  will  endeavour  to  make 
some  provision  for  after  days,  and  for  those  who  possibly 
may  be  dependent  on  you. 

I  suppose  there  were  no  Life  Insurance  offices  in 
those  early  times,  or  I  feel  sure  David  would  have  taken  a 
wise  step,  which  I  urge  upon  every  young  man  ;  and  the 
sooner  you  take  it  the  better. 

I  had  a  great  deal  more  to  say  under  this  fourth  head  ; 
but  I  would  show  myself  far  from  "prudent"  were  I  to 
detain  you  much  longer :  so  I  hasten  to  the 

v.,  and  last  point  of  all,  David's  piety — *' And  the  Lord 
IS  with  him."  Last,  but  far  from  being  least.  You  are 
keeping  in  mind  the  various  particulars  in  this  compre- 
hensive testimonial.  His  person,  his  pastime,  his  patriot- 
ism, his  prudence,  and  now,  finally,  his  piety.  This  was 
his  noblest  recommendation ;  he  carried  God  with  him 
into  all  the  minutest  details  of  life. 

The  very  principle  of  his  daily  being  was  that  which  he 
expressed  in  the  sixteenth  Psalm,  "  I  have  set  the  Lord 
always  before  me ;  because  He  is  at  my  right  hand,  I 
shall  not  be  moved." 

No  one  can  intelligently  read  his  sacred  songs  without 
seeing  that  the  central  spring  of  his  religious  life  was 
humble  dependence  upon  the  Divine  Deliverer  who  was 
one  day  to  suffer  and  die  for  the  sins  of  men. 

St.  Paul  tells  us,  in  the  4th  chapter  of  the  Romans,  that 
David  based  his  hope  upon  the  transfer  of  his  sins  to 
Another,  and  the  imputation  of  the  Messiah's  merits  to 
him  ;  in  other  words,  that  he  possessed  an  evangelical 
faith.  This  was  the  keynote  of  his  whole  life,  **  O,  my 
God,  I  trust  in  Thee."  ''What  wait  I  for.?  My  hope  is 
in  Thee."     "Thou  art  my  trust  from  my  youth."     There 


32  The  City  Youth, 

is  not  a  personage  in  Scripture  history  whose  piety  attained 
a  higher  standard.  He  was  "a  man  after  God's  own 
heart.  The  breathings  of  his  soul  in  these  wonderful 
Psahiis  have  for  ages  been,  in  the  whole  Christian  Church — 
alike  Greek,  Latin,  Puritan,  and  Anglican — the  chosen 
expression  of  the  most  profound 'devotion. 

Now,  my  dear  friends,  you  may  have  all  the  other 
qualifications  described  here,  yet,  if  you  lack  this,  you 
are  awfully  incomplete :  you  cannot  be  presented  to  the 
King,  nor  stand,  harp  in  hand,  before  His  face  in 
glory. 

Oh !  were  I  to  send  any  young  friend  of  mine  out  into 
the  world,  equipped  for  the  battle  of  life,  and  did  I  seek 
for  him  the  highest  joy  and  the  truest  success,  I  would 
say  to  him,  '*  First  of  all,  clear  all  terror  out  of  the  future. 
Let  all  be  right  between  you  and  God.  Take  all  your 
sins  to  that  rill  incarnadine  that  flowed  from  the  open 
wounds  of  Jesus :  and  take  Christ  as  your  chosen  friend 
and  guide." 

A  friend  was  one  day  speaking  to  the  late  learned 
Dr.  Duncan,  of  Edinburgh,  about  religious  life  in  England, 
and  was  contrasting  southern  theology  with  the  robust 
and  stern  orthodoxy  of  Scotland,  and  he  let  fall  the 
expression,  *'  It  is  like  a  limpet,  it  has  no  bone  in  it." 

"Ah,  well,"  replied  Dr.  Duncan,  "a  limpet  is  not  a 
strong  thing,  but  it  cleaves  fast  to  the  rock."  Cleave  to 
the  rock,  my  dear  friends,  and  you  will  not  be  swept  away 
by  those  strong  currents  of  error  or  torrents  of  temptation 
which  are  sure  to  sweep  around  you. 

"  Ah  !  "  you  may  say  to  me,  *'  but  did  not  David  fall  ? 
Who  was  it  that  murdered  Uriah,  that  seduced  Bathsheba, 
and  was  often  over-mastered  by  his  lower  passions  ?  "  I 
think  that,  to  such  questions,  Thomas  Carlyle  gives  the  true 
answer  when  he  asks,  "  What  are  the  errors,  the  crimes  of 


A   Yoic72g  Man  frotn  the  Country,         33 

a  life,  if  the  inner  secret  of  it,  the  temptations  of  it,  the 
agony,  the  remorse,  the  fearful  struggle  are  forgotten  ?  " 
David's  career  he  considers  to  be  the  truest  emblem  ever 
afforded  of  a  man's  desperate  fight  with  iniquity,  and  eager, 
determined  reaching  forth  after  the  noble  and  the  pure. 

Ah !  that's  it.  Some  of  you  have  far  harder  struggles 
than  others,  struggle  with  fierce  passions,  struggle  with 
dark  and  awful  doubts ;  but,  the  harder  the  struggle,  the 
grander  the  victory.  *'  Blessed  is  the  man,"  not  who 
escapeth  temptation,  but  "who  endureth  temptation;  for 
when  he  is  tried,  he  shall  receive  the  crown  of  life  which 
God  hath  promised  to  them  that  love  Him." 

Come  out  then,  and  manfully  pronounce  yourselves  upon 
the  side  of  Christ. 

Decide  what  the  principles  of  your  life  are  to  be,  and 
stand  by  them  at  any  cost.  Have  more  manliness  than  to 
heed  the  jeers  of  the  scoffer. 

The  world  is  always  for  compromise ;  compromise 
between  truth  and  error,  between  right  and  wrong. 

If  a  man  dies  for  his  flag,  the  world  calls  him  a  hero ; 
but  if  he  is  prepared  to  die  for  a  principle,  it  calls  him  a 
fanatic.     Yet  the  latter  is  the  nobler  of  the  two. 

Oh !  my  brothers,  open  your  eyes  towards  the  world 
celestial ;  towards  God  and  eternity ;  towards  a  glorious 
heaven  and  an  amaranthine  crown  1 

Your  physical  person,  indeed,  shall  decay,  and  even 
your  intellectual  powers  may  become  dimmed  with  age, 
but  there  is  one  part  of  you  that  shall  never  know  weak- 
ness nor  decrepitude,  one  part  that  hath  an  immortality 
vhich  neither  sun  nor  stars  can  claim.     Yes  ! 

**  This  spirit  shall  return  to  Him 
Who  gave  its  heavenly  spark  ; 
Yet,  think  not,  sun,  it  shall  be  dim, 
"When  thou  thyself  art  dark  I 


34  T'he  City  Youth, 

No  !  It  shall  live  again,  and  shine 
In  bliss  unknown  to  beams  of  thine,— • 

By  Him  recalled  to  breath, — 
Who  captive  led  captivity, 
Who  robbed  the  grave  of  victory, 

And  took  the  sting  from  death  I " 

May  God  abundantly  bless  you  all ;  and  grant  that  in 
your  persons,  your  pastimes,  your  patriotism,  your  pru- 
dence, and  your  piety,  you  may — like  the  young  shepherd 
of  Bethlehem — be  worthy  of  commendation ;  and  at  length, 
through  the  favour  of  the  King  of  Heaven,  may  each  of 
you  stand,  harp  in  hand,  before  His  presence  for  ever." 
Amen. 


KEEP  THYSELF  PURE. 


•'  IVhail    Know  ye  not  that  your  body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  1  "—I  Corinthians  vi.  19, 


III. 

KEEP  THYSELF  PURE. 

DO  not  be  surprised  at  the  intensity  of  this  remon- 
strance. Only  think  what  a  conception  St.  Paul 
had  of  the  purity  which  Christ  required  ;  think  what  a 
sink  of  iniquity  was  the  city  of  Corinth  ;  remember  that 
some  of  the  converts  were  becoming  entangled  in  its 
sensuality ;  and  you  will  not  wonder  that,  with  a  very 
shudder  of  soul,  the  Apostle  wrote  these  words — **  What  1 
know  ye  not  that  your  body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy 
Ghost  }  "  Oh,  it  was  a  trying  place,  especially  for  young 
men  to  live  in,  that  gay,  dissolute  metropolis  of  Achaia ! 

It  was  equally  famous  for  its  wealth  and  its  profligacy. 
Situated  upon  an  isthmus  that  divided  the  Adriatic  and 
^gean  seas,  the  one  bringing  to  it  the  commerce  of 
Europe,  and  the  other  the  merchandise  of  Asia,  it  grew 
into  unequalled  opulence  and  splendour.  It  was  London 
and  Paris  in  one.  It  combined  the  worship  of  Plutus  and 
Venus.  The  extravagance  of  its  luxury  was  only  matched 
by  the  depth  of  its  licentiousness.  There  was  everything 
there  to  excite  the  passions  and  gratify  the  senses.  Archi- 
tecture, proverbial  to  this  day,  lined  its  streets  with 
palaces.  Pillars  of  porphyry  and  marble  met  the  eye  on 
every  side.  Temples,  and  columns,  and  statues  bewildered 
the  beholder.  Amid  exquisite  boulevards  of  acacia  and 
palm,   alabaster    fountains   threw   up    their   crystal   spray, 


38  The  City  Youth, 

whilst  around  polished  basins  stood  all  manner  of  sculp- 
tured forms,  and  figures  of  burnished  brass. 

From  golden  minarets  and  silver  domes  the  morning 
sunbeams  gleamed  and  glittered  in  fitful  radiance  ;  and 
when  the  shades  of  evening  fell,  voluptuous  music  floated 
in  its  harbours,  and  melted  away  in  its  orange  and  myrtle 
groves.  Through  the  populous  streets  sped  luxurious 
equipages,  brilliant  with  all  the  fashion  and  gaiety  of 
Greece ;  no  conceivable  element  was  wanting  to  brighten 
existence,  and  to  banish  care.  The  markets  of  Corinth 
were  stocked  with  every  delicacy  of  Oriental  extravagance  ; 
the  mirth  of  all  nations  sported  in  her  Isthmian  games ; 
and  the  beauty  of  all  lands  sat  by  night  in  her  theatres, 
paced  her  moonlit  terraces,  danced  upon  her  stages,  and 
threw  itself  upon  the  altar  of  her  stupendous  dissipations. 
Corinth  was  at  that  time  the  Vanity  Fair  of  the  Roman 
empire. 

You  might  be  tempted  to  say — Ah !  no  Christian  could 
remain  pure  in  such  a  place ;  impossible  amid  so  many 
bewitching  temptations  to  keep  one's  garments  unspotted 
by  the  flesh.  So  some  of  the  young  men  of  Corinth 
thought.  They  said,  "  It's  no  use  trying  to  live  a  sinless 
and  holy  life  here.  We  are  tempted  as  no  other  men  are. 
We  are  tempted  above  that  we  are  able,  and  there  is  no 
way  of  escape."  The  Apostle  knew  that  they  spoke  thus, 
and  he  wrote  to  them  that  it  was  an  entire  mistake.  In 
this  very  letter  he  said,  ^' There  hath  no  temptation  taken 
you  but  such  as  is  common  to  man  :  but  God  is  faithful, 
who  will  not  suffer  you  to  be  tempted  above  that  ye  are 
able  :  but  will,  with  the  temptation,  also  make  a  way  to 
escape,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  bear  it." 

I  believe  some  of  you  young  men  have  just  the  same 
notion  that  these  Corinthians  had.  You  think  it  is  almost 
hopeless  to  grapple  with  the  temptations  that  assail  you. 


Keep  Thyself  Pure,  39 

You  say  London  is  quite  as  trying  to  one's  principles  as 
ever  Corinth  was.  Perhaps  so  ;  yet  even  in  Corinth  there 
were  those  who  remained  proof  against  contamination. 

The  grace  of  God  proved  sufficient  for  them.  The 
warnings  and  entreaties  of  the  Apostle  were  the  means  of 
preserving  them. 

Of  course,  he  is  here  writing  to  Christian  men  ;  to 
persons  who  had  once,  indeed,  been  as  vile  as  their 
neighbours,  but  were  now  (as  he  says  in  the  nth  verse) 
*'  washed,  and  sanctified,  and  justified,  in  the  name  of  the 
Lord  Jesus,  and  by  the  Spirit  of  our  God."  It  was  of  little 
use  to  exhort  others  to  a  life  of  purity.  An  unbeliever  has 
neither  the  stimulus  nor  the  aids  to  holiness  which  a 
follower  of  Jesus  has.  An  unconverted  man  regards  him- 
self as  his  own  property,  and  naturally  feels  that  he  may 
deal  with  that  property  as  he  chooses.  It  is  a  very  miser- 
able state  to  live  in,  for  it  is  to  be  "without  God,  and 
without  hope  in  the  world." 

It  is  to  live  the  life  of  a  dog.  A  few  years  of  animal 
gratification,  and  then  to  be  shelved  out  of  the  way  by  the 
sexton's  spade,  and  become  the  food  of  worms.  Nay,  it  is 
unutterably  worse  than  that,  for  "  after  death  is  the  judg- 
ment," and  then  a  measureless  eternity — an  eternity  of 
darkness  and  despair.  Oh,  none  of  you,  surely,  are  going 
to  be  content  with  such  a  destiny  !  Well,  what  is  the 
other  alternative  ?  There  is  only  one  other — to  be  the 
redeemed  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  See  what  the  last  verse  of 
this  chapter  says,  "Ye  are  not  your  own:  for  ye  are 
bought  with  a  price."  St.  Peter,  writing  to  Christians, 
explains  this  fully :  "  Ye  have  not  been  redeemed,"  or 
bought,  he  says,  "  with  corruptible  things,  such  as  silver 
and  gold,  but  with  the  precious  blood  of  Christ." 

Christ  gave  His  own  blood,  that  is,  His  life,  for  our 
salvation,  that  all  who  believe  in  Him,  and  accept  of  Him, 


40  The  City  Youth, 

should  be  saved ;  and  if  we  believe,  He  claims  us  as  His 
own.  We  are  forthwith  His  property,  and  are  bound  to 
place  ourselves,  with  all  our  powers,  all  our  faculties,  all 
our  gifts,  at  His  disposal. 

This  is  not  a  hardship,  but  a  joyous  liberty.  And  the 
secret  of  it  is,  that  He  puts  His  Holy  Spirit  within  us, 
making  us  new  creatures,  with  new  desires,  new  likings, 
new  motives. 

Our  body  then  becomes  the  residence  or  "temple"  of 
this  Divine  Spirit,  and  all  its  members  at  His  sole  bidding 
— hands,  feet,  brain,  tongue,  lip,  every  part  of  our  physical 
being,  under  His  control. 

This  is  the  idea  that  fills  the  Apostle's  mind  in  the 
passage  before  us ;  and,  when  he  contemplates  the  possi- 
bility of  such  a  person,  redeemed  by  Christ,  and  inhabited 
by  the  Spirit,  suffering  himself  to  be  defiled  by  the  faintest 
touch  of  fleshly  pollution,  the  colour  rises  to  his  cheek  ; 
yea,  he  is  as  startled  and  horrified  as  would  an  ancient 
Jew  have  been  who  saw  a  carcase  taken  into  the  temple. 
or  swine's  flesh  offered  upon  the  altar  ;  and  he  breaks  out 
into  the  indignant  remonstrance,  "  What !  know  ye  not 
that  your  body  is  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  " 

This  is  not  the  first  time  we  have  found  the  body 
described  as  *'a  temple."  ''Destroy  this  temple,"  said 
Jesus  to  the  Jews,  probably  laying  his  hand  upon  His 
person  as  He  said  it,  ''  and  in  three  days  I  will  raise  it 
again."  The  Evangelist  immediately  adds,  *'  He  spake 
of  the  temple  of  His  body."  It  is  a  very  solemn  and 
suggestive  metaphor.  There  is  no  edifice  that  ever  was 
consecrated  by  Anglican  or  Roman  prelate  that  is  really 
so  sacred  as  the  body  of  a  Christian. 

The  temple  at  Jerusalem  has  for  ages  been  laid  in 
ruins,  and  the  magnificent  ritual  of  which  it  was  the  centre 
and  symbo.  has  been  swept  away;  in  this  spiritual  and 


Keep   Thyself  Pure,  41 

Gospel  dispensation  under  which  it  is  our  privilege  to 
live,  there  is  no  warrant  for  the  outward  rite  of  conse- 
crating persons  or  buildings  or  places  to  the  Lord,  and 
every  such  ceremony  savours  of  superstition ;  the  only 
temples  God  now  owns  are  the  two  which  Paul  so  clearly 
defines  in  this  epistle;  first,  the  spiritual  society  of  His 
own  people  in  the  aggregate  (iii.  16),  **  Know  ye  not 
that  ye  are  the  temple  of  God,  and  that  the  Spirit  of 
God  dwelleth  in  you  ?  "  and,  secondly,  the  fleshly  frame 
of  each  individual  believer,  "  Know  ye  not  that  your  body 
is  the  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ?  " 

Young  men  !  There  are  considerations  springing  out 
of  this  truth,  which,  were  no  eyes  but  yours  likely  to 
read  these  pages,  I  might  press  upon  you  with  a  plainness 
of  speech  you  are  not  accustomed  to  hear;  but  I  would 
to  God  that  the  refinement  which  is  demanded  in  a  printed 
address  of  this  sort  found  its  equivalent  in  society,  in  the 
practices  of  daily  life,  and  in  the  columns  of  the  secular 
press. 

Perhaps  the  most  common  and  plausible  of  all  pleas 
with  which  the  impure  satisfy  themselves  and  quiet  an 
upbraiding  conscience,  is  the  very  notion  which  the 
Apostle  here  challenges  and  denies :  "  Our  bodies  are 
our  own  ;  we  may  do  with  them  what  we  will."  But  they 
are  not  your  own,  says  Paul ;  that  is  to  say,  if  you  make 
the  feeblest  profession  of  being  Christians,  if  you  entertain 
the  smallest  glimmer  of  the  hope  that  you  are  saved,  your 
bodies  are  the  purchased  property  of  the  Lord,  and  are 
consecrated  by  the  indwelling  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

What  an  argument  against  self-indulgence,  in  any  of  the 
many  forms  it  may  assume  !  These  are,  as  we  are  told  in 
this  chapter,  sins  "  against  the  body ; "  desecrations  of 
God's  own  temple  ! 

Now,    remember  what   the  Apostle   has    already   said' 


42  The  City  YotUh, 

*'If  any  man  defile  the  temple  of  God,  him  shall  God 
destroy." 

He  is  awfully  jealous  of  the  purity  of  His  temple  !  But 
you  must  not  imagine  that  it  is  only  one  form  of  vice 
against  which  you  are  here  warned  ;  for  it  is  not  by 
violations  of  the  seventh  commandment  only  that  the 
body  is  dishonoured.  Any  kind  of  carnal  indulgence,  or 
pampering  of  the  flesh,  whether  it  be  in  sleep,  or  in 
eating,  or  drinking,  or  in  .dress,  or  in  luxurious  living,  falla 
within  the  category. 

Christ  is  said  to  dwell  in  us  by  His  Spirit ;  and  the 
building  must  be  kept  clean  and  in  order  for  such  an 
occupant.  But,  I  daresay  some  of  you  read  such  expres- 
sions as  meaning  only  that  He  dwells  within  our  hearts  ; 
and  so  you  attenuate  the  thought  until  it  passes  lightly 
over  you ;  but,  mark  you,  Paul  speaks  of  Christ  as  dwell- 
ing in  *'  our  mortal  bodies,"  and  there  must  be  some  very 
searching  truth  underlying  such  language.  For  how  can 
Christ  dwell  in  a  body  that  is  stained  by  li:st  or  excess  } 
Will  He  enter  a  temple  like  that  ?  You  recollect  that, 
when  He  was  about  to  visit  the  Jewish  Temple  of  old,  and 
found  its  hallowed  precincts  defiled  by  oxen,  and  sheep, 
and  doves,  and  them  that  bought  and  sold.  He  made  a 
scourge  of  cords,  and  drove  out  all  the  vile  intruders. 

And  rest  assured,  that,  although  it  should  be  by  the 
scourge  of  sore  affliction  and  painful  trial,  He  will  have 
you  purged  from  all  uncleanness,  if  He  is  to  make  you 
His  habitation. 

Oh,  my  brothers  !  I  almost  upbraid  myself  for  address- 
ing you  in  such  calm  and  measured  tones,  when,  to  my 
certain  knowledge,  there  are  so  many  young  men,  and 
possibly  some  who  are  reading  these  pages — ay,  men  who 
bear  the  Christian  name — who  are  not  fit  to  be  touched 
with  the  glove  of  innocence,  and  who  are  galloping  on  to 


Keep   Thyself  Pure,  43 ' 

the  profligate's  doom !  Oh,  it  seems  to  me  as  though  I 
ought,  throwing  all  false  delicacy  aside,  to  entreat  and 
beseech  of  you  in  burning  words  to  shun  the  path  of 
licentiousness,  and  *'  cleansing  yourselves  from  all  filthiness 
of  the  flesh  and  of  the  spirit,  to  perfect  holiness  in  the 
fear  of  God." 

It  is  within  my  personal  knowledge  that  there  are  young 
men  in  some  of  our  metropolitan  mercantile  houses, 
respectable  in  appearance,  and  gentlemanly  in  bearing, 
who,  through  vicious  indulgence,  have  already  gathered 
a  hell  around  them,  from  whose  tortures  they  can  find  no 
escape. 

Allured  by  wicked  companions,  the  conscience  drugged 
by  opiates,  and  the  passions  inflamed  by  wine,  they  have 
slid  down  to  the  utmost  moral  degradation,  till,  by  their 
own  confession,  they  have  come  to  wallow  swinishly  in 
the  foulest  sink  of  nastiness,  to  herd  with  the  very  scum 
and  refuse  of  society,  and  to  revel  amid  the  infernal  orgies 
that  are  nightly  celebrated  in  the  haunts  of  nameless 
infamy.  And  yet  conscience  would  not  let  them  alone ; 
and  they  have  come  to  tell  me  how,  with  every  recollection 
of  the  purity  they  had  for  ever  lost,  the  iron  has  entered 
their  soul,  and  they  were  the  victims  of  an  agony  that  was 
unendurable  ! 

How  did  they  begin  }  They  began  by  being  irregular 
in  their  habits,  careless  in  making  acquaintanceships, 
tampering  with  stimulants,  taking  to  billiard-playing,  and 
theatre-going,  and  gambling;  then,  on  to  drinking  bouts 
at  taverns,  midnight  larks  with  the  human  offal  of  the 
streets,  and  finally,  every  conceivable  form  of  hideous 
debauchery  and  Satanic  revelry !  Ah  !  let  me  ask,  with 
the  Apostle,  "What  fruit  had  ye  then  in  those  things 
whereof  ye  are  now  ashamed  }  for  the  end  of  those  things 
is  death.'* 


44  The  City   Youth. 

Oh,  the  heartlessness  of  vice  !  It  is  not  so  long  ago 
since  a  young  man  of  good  family,  excellent  prospects, 
and  pleasing  iddress,  died  mi.iorably  like  a  dog  in  Paris, 
at  the  hands  of  her  whom  he  had  ruined.  He  had  been 
what  is  called  a  generous  ^oul,  a  jolly  good  fellow,  and 
had  plenty  of  boon  companions  who  joined  with  him  in 
his  dissipations,  and  often,  with  maudlin  fervour,  pledged 
their  never-dying  friendship.  Yet — will  you  believe  it  ? — 
when  that  body  lay  cold  and  still  in  the  Morgue  yonder, 
behind  the  towers  of  old  "  Notre  Dame,"  with  none  to 
claim  it  and  give  it  decent  interment,  there  was  not  one 
of  all  his  fast  associates  that  paid  it  the  tribute  of  a  visit, 
not  one  to  shed  a  tear  over  his  cold  clay,  of  all  the 
depraved  profligates  that  had  sponged  him,  and  joined  in 
his  hilarious  orgies. 

Such  is  sin.  Iscariot,  stung  with  remorse,  flings  down 
the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  on  the  temple  floor,  saying  to 
the  priests  and  Pharisees,  who  were  too  well  pleased  at 
his  awful  crime,  **  I  have  sinned,  in  that  I  have  betrayed 
the  innocent  blood."  But  listen  to  their  reply  :  **  What  is 
that  to  us  }  See  thou  to  that ;  "  nor  did  they  heave  one  sigh 
of  pity,  as  the  wretch  went  straight  and  hanged  himself. 

There  are  plenty  who  will  try  to  persuade  you  that 
it  is  a  sign  of  weakness  to  be  pure.  There  are  brutes 
of  men  who  will  toss  their  heads,  and  make  dramatic 
attitudes,  and  boast  of  their  own  indiscretions  ;  and  ask  the 
right-minded  young  man  if  he  would  not  like  to  do  the 
same.  And  then,  if  he  look  displeased,  they  will  call  him 
verdant,  or  puritanical,  and  a:k  if  he  is  still  tied  to  his 
mother's  apron-strings.  And,  unless  you  are  prepared  to 
stand  that  vulgar  bluster,  unless  your  heart  in  its  purity 
recoils  with  disgust,  you  are  all  but  certain  to  be  caught; 
and  from  the  gates  of  hell  shall  ascend  another  shout  of 
victory.     A  good  man  of  seventy-five  once  said,  **  God  has 


Keep   Thyself  Pure.  45 

forgiven  me  all  the  sins  of  my  lifetime.  I  know  that ;  but 
there  is  one  sin  I  committed  at  twenty,  that  has  taken  the 
charm  out  of  my  whole  life,  and  to  this  hour  has  never 
ceased  to  trouble  me." 

Take  warning.  There  is  a  sense  in  which  the  precious 
jewel  of  purity,  once  lost,  can  never  be  regained.  "Keep 
thyself  pure."  There  are  special  reasons  why  I  should 
dwell  with  solemn  emphasis  on  this  matter.  A  wave  of 
moral  uncleanness  has  been  rolling  over  the  land.  To 
its  infinite  disgrace  a  portion  of  the  press  is  pandering 
to  the  lowest  tastes  of  the  community,  and  under  the 
hypocritical  plea  of  exposing  the  evil  that  it  may  be 
eradicated,  is  working  untold  mischief.  I  know  that 
many  will  differ  from  me,  and  rather  applaud  the  writers, 
who  have  been  exposing  to  public  gaze  depths  of  iniquity 
such  as  Sodom  never  surpassed.  But  my  conviction  is 
deliberate  and  unchanged,  that  any  good  that  may  be 
done,  is  enormously  counterbalanced  by  the  evil  that  is 
wrought.  Why,  we  see  it.  A  perfect  epidemic  of  impurity 
has  been  overspreading  the  country.  The  innocent  and 
guileless  are  made  familiar  with  matters  that  should  never 
be  whispered  in  their  ear.  A  prurient  inquisitiveness  is 
awakened ;  the  conscience  is  defiled ;  and  the  record  of 
loathsome  vices  only  stimulates  imitation. 

Against  those  who  justify  the  publication  of  all  that  is 
nauseous  and  disgusting,  I  undertake  to  bring  the  voice 
of  Holy  Scripture,  and  would  remind  Ihem  of  the  Apostle's 
words,  that  "  it  is  a  shame  even  to  speak  of  those  things 
which  are  done  of  them  in  secret." 

Truly  did  Pope  write  in  his  essay  on  man : — 

"  Vice  is  a  monster  of  such  frightful  mien, 
As,  to  be  hated,  needs  but  to  be  seen  ; 
Yet,  seen  too  oft,  familiar  with  its  face, 
We  first  endure,  then  pity,  then  embrace.* 


46  The  City  Youth. 

My  friends,  I  feel  that  it  is  more  than  time  to  break 
through  the  spurious  and  artificial  propriety  that  has 
sealed  our  lips  in  regard  to  what  the  Apostle  terms  sins 
against  the  body.  Beneath  the  thinnest  layer  of  outward 
decency,  there  is  in  this  metropolis  a  seething  mass  of 
moral  corruption,  sufficient  to  bring  down  upon  us  the 
hot  thunderbolts  of  the  Almighty's  ire.  We  talk  of  our 
Christianity,  our  civilisation,  and  refinement ;  yet  there  is 
a  Sodom  in  our  midst  that  is  sending  forth  pestilential 
effluvia  on  every  side,  and  yearly  swallowing  up  thousands 
of  our  youth  to  their  eternal  destruction. 

Oh,  my  lads,  my  heart  burns  with  indignation  as  I  think 
of  the  fiends  in  human  form  that  are  ever  seeking  to 
entrap  the  unwary,  and  lure  you  within  the  meshes  of  a  net 
from  which  there  is  no  escape.  I  remember  what  a  thrill 
went  through  me,  as  I  first  gazed  upon  the  gloomy  walls  of 
the  Prison  de  la  Roquette,  in  Paris,  which  is  set  apart  for 
criminals  that  are  condemned  to  be  executed,  and  read 
over  those  huge  hideous  iron  gates  the  inscription, 
** Abandon  hope  all  ye  who  enter  here!"  But  hardly 
less  hopeless  are  those  who  once  enter  upon  the  path  of 
the  profligate.     Facilis  descensus  Avetiii. 

Oh,  keep  a  thousand  miles  from  the  verge  of  the  pit ! 
Avoid  everything  that  is  likely  to  act  as  an  incentive  to 
sin ;  all  such  places,  and  associates,  and  habits,  and  books, 
and  drinks,  and  pleasures  as  tend  to  inflame  the  lowest 
passions  of  your  nature,  and  make  you  an  easy,  if  not  a 
certain,  prey.  Determinately  abstain  from  every  practice 
that  is  even  questionable,  not  to  say  unlawful.  Make  it 
your  rule  to  do  nothing  of  which  conscience  does  not 
distinctly  say,  **  This  is  right."  If  there  is  any  doubt,  let 
not  the  devil  have  the  benefit  of  the  doubt. 

Remember,  the  principle  which  the  Apostle  laid  down 
in  regard  to  sacrificial  meats  is  one  of  general  application  ; 


Keep   Thyself  Pure,  47 

**  He  that  doubteth  is  condemned  if  he  eat,  because  he 
eateth  not  of  faith,  for  whatsoever  is  not  of  faith  is  sin." 
Never  drug  your  conscience  with  the  lie  that  that  cannot 
be  wrong  to  which  your  natural  desires  would  carry 
you,  for  such  a  plea  would  justify  every  form  of 
iniquity. 

God  has  placed  us  in  a  world  of  temptations,  as  Adam 
was  placed  in  a  garden  containing  forbidden  fruit,  that 
we  may  be  tried,  and  disciplined,  and  tempted ;  and 
**  happy  is  the  man,"  says  St.  James,  not  who  never 
meeteth,  but  *' who  endureth  temptation:  for  when  he  is 
tried,  he  shall  receive  the  crown  of  life."  You  cannot 
escape  this  battle — there  is  no  discharge  from  the  war ; 
you  must  either  be  beaten  or  win,  and  those  who  have 
been  in  the  thickest  of  the  fight  and  have  conquered, 
shall  receive  the  richest  reward. 

Never  be  persuaded  to  go  near  any  place  of  unlawful 
pleasure.  If  you  wilfully  throw  yourself  in  the  way  of 
temptation,  you  cannot  offer  up  that  prayer,  "  Deliver  us 
from  evil." 

Two  young  men  stood  one  evening  at  the  door  of  a 
place  of  sinful  amusement. 

It  was  the  first  time  they  had  ever  done  so;  but  the 
night  was  dark,  and  just  once  for  a  lifetime  they  thought 
they  might,  unobserved,  slip  in.  They  tried  to  feel  at 
ease ;  but,  as  they  were  entering,  one  of  them  felt,  as  he 
thought,  the  touch  of  an  invisible  hand  upon  his  shoulder, 
with  a  whisper,  **  Don't  go  in  !     Don't  go  in  !  " 

Whose  hand  was  that?  A  mother's  hand,  or  the 
shadow  of  it,  fifteen  years  in  the  grave.  He  started  back, 
fled  from  the  spot,  and  within  fifteen  minutes  was  in  his 
own  lodging,  and  on  his  knees,  praying,  "Lord,  hold 
Thou  me  up,  and  I  shall  be  safe."  His  companion  went 
in,  lost  his  character,  and  his  peace,  and  his  self-respect. 


48  The  City  Youth. 

And  that  night  dated  the  commencement  of  a  course  that 
ended  in  remorse  and  shame. 

Beware  of  the  beginnings  of  sin,  the  first  thoughts  of 
wickedness.     Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart. 

Keep  your  foot,  then,  on  your  animal  nature;  let  your 
flesh  be  in  absolute  subjection  to  your  spirit.  Paul  says 
(i  Cor.  ix.  27),  "I  keep  under  my  body;"  but  the  Greek  is 
(see  the  Revised  Version)  **  I  buffet  or  pummel  my  body." 
Ay,  and  sometimes  it  needs  a  good  heavy  pummelling  to 
keep, it  in  its  own  place.  Even  habits  that  are  not  in 
themselves  sinful  may,  through  constant  indulgence,  obtain 
a  mastery  over  you,  and  so  involve  you  in  wrongdoing  ;  for 
there  are  many  forms  of  self-indulgence  not  absolutely 
prohibited,  which,  with  certain  natures  or  constitutions, 
are  certain  to  get  the  upper  hand  unless  sternly  resisted. 

It  may  be  drink,  it  may  be  card-playing,  it  may  be 
slothfulness,  or  a  too  dainty  appetite,  or  novel-reading,  or 
love  of  dress :  every  one  of  which  has  proved,  in  many 
instances,  the  fatal  snare.  Show,  then,  that  you — that  is, 
your  higher  nature — are  master :  and  smash  the  idol  if 
you  are  beginning  to  worship  it.  A  gentleman  well 
known  to  you  by  name.  Sir  J.  Allport,  the  late  popular 
secretary  to  the  Midland  Railway  Company,  and  a  true 
friend  to  young  men,  openly  stated  that  he  owed  much  of 
his  success  in  life  to  a  resolution  he  had  early  made,  that 
he  would  never  allow  any  habit  to  be  his  master.  He 
instanced  smoking,  of  which  he  found  himself  becoming 
so  fond,  that  he  was  simply  miserable  if  he  had  not  his 
pipe.  Well,  he  knew  there  was  no  sin  in  smoking,  but 
as  soon  as  he  perceived  the  habit  was  getting  the  ascend- 
ency over  him,  smash  went  the  pipe,  and  he  said,  "  No 
more  tobacco  for  me  ; "  and  he  has  kept  his  word.  Now, 
that  was  a  brave  act;  and  that  is  precisely  how  you 
should  deal  with  every  indulgence  which  threatens  to  get 


Keep   Thyself  Pure,  49 

the  better  of  you,   and  to   injure  or  defile  the  temple  of 
your  body. 

Just  one  thought  more,  and  I  close.  Perhaps  you  think 
of  these  bodies  as  mere  temporary  tabernacles,  movable 
tents  of  little  value,  and  soon  to  be  taken  down  and 
dissolved.  There  is  a  certain  measure  of  truth  in  this 
of  course,  and  St.  Paul  does  not  forget,  in  his  second 
epistle,  to  dwell  on  it.  But  in  a  higher  sense,  the 
Christian's  body  is  not  a  tabernacle,  but  a  temple,  a  per- 
manent and  enduring  structure.  Need  I  say  that  I  am 
alluding  to  the  doctrine  of  the  resurrection,  and  to  the 
fact  that,  from  the  ashes  of  the  sepulchre  these  bodies 
shall  rise  again  ? 

Think  of  these  remarkable  words  of  inspiration  :  "  If 
the  Spirit  of  Him  that  raised  up  Jesus  from  the  dead  dwell 
in  you.  He  that  raised  up  Christ  from  the  dead  shall  also 
quicken  your  mofial  bodies  by  His  Spirit  that  dwelleth  in 
you."    We  have  a  bodily  as  well  as  a  spiritual  immortality. 

Oh,  with  what  a  magnitude  of  interest  and  importance 
does  this  thought  invest  these  corporeal  frames,  these 
fleshly  temples  1  There  are  no  beings  on  earth  but  our- 
selves to  whom  this  continuity  of  existence  is  given.  It 
confers  upon  our  bodies  an  awful  indestructibility,  at  the 
thought  of  which  the  perpetuity  of  mountains,  and  suns, 
and  stars  sinks  into  nothing.  Will  you  dishonour  an 
edifice  that  has  been  erected  for  eternity }  Will  you 
violate  a  temple  that  is  to  stand  for  ever  } 

Some  time  ago  an  aged  saint  was  being  borne  to  his 
burial.  He  had  been  poor,  very  poor,  and  with  indecent 
haste  and  carelessness  they  were  shuffling  his  coffin  out 
of  their  way,  as  though  glad  to  get  rid  of  him,  when 
an  old  minister  who  observed  it,  said,  **  Tread  softly, 
for  you  are  carrying  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  A 
temple      lAh,  yes ;  to  rise  again  fair  and  faultless  on  the 

4 


50  The  City  Youth, 

glorious  morn !  No  infirmities  then  ;  no  crack  nor 
flaw! 

As  I  was  travelling  by  railway  last  week,  there  sat  beside 
me  a  midcile-aged  man  who  some  time  ago  had  met  with 
an  accident  by  which  his  arm  was  broken.  He  was  now, 
however,  seemingly  well  recovered.  At  a  certain  station 
another  passenger  entered,  who  at  once  recognised  my 
neighbour,  and  asked  him  if  his  arm  was  whole  again.  I 
was  struck  with  the  reply.  **  Better,  thank  you,  but  will 
never  be  sound  again  till  the  resurrection.  Oh  (added 
he),  will  not  that  be  a  blessed  day,  when  all  imperfections 
shall  be  done  with  for  ever,  and  we  shall  arise  the  glorious 
temples  of  the  Holy  Ghost !  " 

Is  it  possible,  then,  you  can  be  too  careful  in  keeping 
such  temples  holy  }  Now,  indeed  they  are  liable  to  decay, 
and  need  to  be  sustained  by  food,  and  rest,  and  discipline, 
and  temperance ;  but  by-and-by  they  shall  spring  up, 
phoenix-like,  from  the  ashes  of  the  tomb,  fashioned  like 
unto  Christ's  glorious  body,  crystal  temples,  as  it  were,  of 
transparent  splendour,  and  no  more  liable  to  perish. 

Oh,  young  men !  Tread  the  sensual,  the  carnal,  the 
bestial,  beneath  your  feet,  and  grasp  the  amaranthine 
crown  of  immortality. 

Now,  I  pray  to  God  that  ye  do  no  evil ;  and  **that  your 
whole  spirit,  and  soul,  and  body  be  preserved  blameless 
unto  the  coming  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ."     Amen. 


MAKING  SHIPWRECK  OF  THE  SOUL. 


"  Holding  faitk  and  a  good  conscience:  which^  some  having  put  away^ 
concerning  faith  have  made  shipwreck.'''^ — I  Timothy  i.  19. 


IV. 

MAKING  SHIPWRECK  OF  THE  SOUL. 

I  DO  not  wonder  that  such  an  illustration  should  readily 
occur  to  the  mind  of  Paul.  He  had  not  forgotten  his 
terrible  experience  in  the  autumn  of  62,  just  three  years 
before.  For  fourteen  weary  days — the  fierce  Euroclydon 
blowing,  and  neither  sun  nor  stars  appearing — he  had 
been  tossed  up  and  down  on  the  angry  sea  of  Adria,  the 
vessel  a  mere  plaything  to  the  gale.  Indeed,  it  was  by  a 
miracle  that  he  and  his  fellow-passengers  were  saved,  for 
the  ship  was  shivered  to  pieces  on  the  reefs  of  IMelita  ;  and 
only  by  clinging  to  boards  and  broken  pieces  of  the  vessel 
did  they  ultimately  escape  safe  to  land. 

Nor  was  this  by  any  means  his  sole  experience  of  the 
dangers  of  the  deep.  In  writing  two  years  earlier  to  the 
Church  at  Corinth,  he  made  mention  of  **  perils  of  the 
sea"  he  had  already  encountered,  and  stated  that  "thrice 
he  had  suffered  shipwreck." 

As  the  first  Christian  missionary,  he  had  made  repeated 
voyages  from  Caesarea  to  Tarsus,  and  Antioch,  and  Cyprus, 
and  various  parts  of  Asia  Minor,  and  had  probably  been 
eyewitness  of  many  a  sad  maritime  disaster. 

I  daresay,  as  the  large  Alexandrian  corn-ship  in  which 
he  made  his  last  voyage  left  the  quiet  port  of  Myra  on 
a  fine  August  morning,  he  and  his  fellow-passengers  had 
little  thought  of  the  adventures  they  were  going  to  meet 


54  The  City  Youth, 

with.  There  is  something  singularly  exhilarating  and 
delightful  in  setting  forth  upon  the  sea.  It  is  pleasant  to 
'(^yti  the  vessel  gently  gliding  out  of  the  harbour,  to  see  the 
wind  beginning  to  fill  the  outspread  sails,  and  to  be  con- 
scious of  the  speedening  motion  as  the  ship  gets  fairly  out 
into  its  native  element,  and  leaves  the  land  behind.  I  love 
to  stand  upon  the  shore  as  I  did  oftener  than  once  last 
summer  at  the  Isle  of  Man,  and,  with  telescope  in  hand, 
watch  some  noble  brig  leaving  the  port  in  all  the  pride  of 
sail,  "  walking  the  waters  like  a  thing  of  life."  There  is 
not  a  prettier  sight  to  be  seen  than  such 

"  a  stately  ship. 
With  all  her  bravery  on,  and  tackle  trim,  „ 

Sails  filled,  and  streamers  waving, 
Courted  by  all  the  winds  that  hold  them  play." 

We  almost  forget  the  dangers  that  lie  before  her  as  we 
gaze  upon  her  elegant  proportions,  when,  like  a  milk-white 
swan  arching  its  proud  neck  over  the  rippling  waters  of  a 
lake,  she  floats  gaily  out  upon  the  azure  main. 

But,  through  what  trouble  and  conflict  may  she  have  to 
pass  ere  she  drop  her  anchor  in  the  port  once  more  I 
What  tempests  may  howl  around  her,  what  seas  break  over 
her !  How  may  her  great  masts  groan,  and  her  timbers 
strain,  and  her  sails  be  torn  to  shreds  in  the  sudden 
storm  !  What  hours  of  seeming  agony  may  she  have  to 
spend,  as  she  rolls  ungovernable  in  the  trough  of  the  sea  ! 
Ay,  and  who  can  tell  but  that  gallant  ship  may  yet  be 
shattered  on  the  rocks,  disappearing  in  a  night  in  the 
fathomless  abyss,  whilst  in  the  morning  not  a  bubble 
marks  the  spot  where  she  had  gone  down.  I  noticed  in 
the  newspaper  the  other  day  that  a  bark  had  foundered  off 
the  coast  of  Cumberland — three  of  her  crew  Demg  lost — 
which  less  than  two  months  ago  I  saw  quietly  loading  in 
the  harbour. 


Making  Shipwreck  of  the  SouL  55 

Now,  I  fancy  that  such  a  contrast  as  I  have  drawn  was 
in  the  mind  of  the  Apostle,  when  he  wrote  the  words  of 
our  text.  He  is  speaking  of  a  class  of  disaster  yet  more 
sad  and  awful,  ay,  and  more  frequent  too. 

The  records  at  Trinity  House  may  inform  us  how  many 
ships  have  been  wrecked  in  one  year,  but,  ah  !  where  is  the 
record  that  shall  tell  us  how  many  souls  have  been  lost  ? 
How  many  young  men,  for  example,  who  left  their  peace- 
ful, pious  homes,  perhaps  a  few  years  ago,  and  have  been 
launched  upon  the  open  sea  of  city  life  with  all  its  dangers 
and  temptations,  have,  within  the  past  few  months,  been 
caught  by  some  fierce  blast  of  vice  or  error,  and  hurled 
to  moral  and  spiritual  ruin  ? 

Paul  was  writing  to  an  admirable  young  man  of  excellent 
principles  and  decided  religious  character — a  youth  who 
possessed  both  a  sound  faith  and  good  conscience  ;  but  he 
did  not  think  it  out  of  place  to  give  him  a  word  of  faithful 
warning ;  and  that  word  I  propose  to  address  to  you  this 
evening.  The  Apostle  calls  it  a  ** charge;"  meaning 
thereby  especially  solemn  and  earnest  injunction. 

"This  charge  I  commit  unto  thee,  son  Timothy, 
according  to  the  prophecies  which  went  before  on  thee, 
that  thou  by  them  mightest  war  a  good  warfare  ;  holding 
faith  and  a  good  conscience,  which  some,  having  put 
away,  concerning  faith  have  made  shipwreck." 

Carrying  out  the  illustration  before  us,  there  are  three 
things  I  want  to  speak  to  you  about  to-night ;  a  fair  start, 
a  good  equipment,  and  a  fatal  disaster ;  God  grant  you 
may  all  carry  away  some  wholesome  lessons  with  you. 

I.  A  fair  skirt.  This  thought  is  suggested  by  St.  Paul's 
reference  to  the  early  promise  whigh  Timothy  gave  of  a 
pious  and  useful  life.  When  he  speaks  of  **the  prophecies 
that  went  before  on  him,"  I  understand  him  to  allude  not 


56  The  City  Youth. 

to  inspired  predictions,  in  the  usual  sense  of  the  term,  but 
to  the  hopes  which  had  been  cherished,  and  the  anticipa- 
tions which  had  been  expressed,  regarding  him,  even  fronj 
his  childhood. 

People  who  knew  the  lad,  his  character,  his  training, 
his  environments,  augured  for  him  a  bright  and  honour- 
able career.  They  said,  *'  That  boy  will  turn  out  well. 
He  will  be  a  good  man.  He  will  make  a  mark  on  society. 
He  will  live  to  purpose." 

And  those  *'  prophecies  "  were  justified.  First,  by  the 
fact  that  he  came  of  a  good  stock.  His  father,  it  is  said, 
was  a  Greek,  and  probably  not  a  genuine  convert  to  Chris- 
tianity ;  but,  as  nothing  is  said  of  him,  and  not  even  his 
name  given,  it  is  surmised  that  he  had  died  during  his 
son's  infancy.  The  care  of  the  boy  thus  devolved  upon  his 
mother,  Eunice,  and  his  grandmother,  Lois ;  and  they 
were,  both  of  them,  excellent  and  pious  Christian  ladies. 
They  had  received  the  truth  during  the  Apostle's  visit  to 
Lycaonia ;  and  there  can  be  no  doubt  that  they  resided 
under  the  same  roof,  and  that  under  their  united  care 
young  Timothy  was  brought  up  in  a  happy  Christian 
home.  Oh,  what  an  unspeakable  advantage  is  that  I 
What  language  can  express  the  blessing  that  comes  of  a 
wise  and  godly  upbringing !  Many  of  us  owe  more  than 
ever  we  can  tell  to  the  holy  influences  that  gathered  round 
us  in  our  early  days.  Oh,  with  what  tender  and  delightful 
associations  is  that  paternal  dwelling  linked !  We  shall 
never  forget  the  dear  old  home  where  our  infancy  was 
spent ;  and  the  pleasant  Sabbath  evenings,  the  fervent 
prayers,  and  the  loved  ones  who  have  now,  it  may  be, 
passed  away.  It  brings  the  moisture  to  the  eye  as  we 
recall  those  happy  days,  and  think,  perhaps,  how  far  we 
have  wandered  from  the  character  we  then  possessed,  and 
the  promise  we  then  gave.     And,  ah  !  there  is  one  whose 


Making  Shipwreck  of  the  SouL  57 

person  formed  the  very  centre  of  that  blessed  circle,  one 
we  almost  worshipped  with  our  love,  we  thought  her  more 
angelic  than  human ;  a  lump  comes  up  into  our  throat  as 
we  mention  her  name,  mother!  We  thought  no  one  ever 
had  such  a  mother  as  we.  And  all  the  more,  if  (as  pro- 
bably in  Timothy's  case)  she  was  a  widow,  did  she  com- 
mand the  whole  empire  of  our  heart's  affections. 

Ay,  and  old  grannie  Lois,  too,  we  remember  how  she 
would  take  down  her  spectacles  from  the  chimney  corner, 
and  show  us  Bible-pictures  that  delighted  our  young 
minds,  and  then  would  urge  us  to  givQ  our  lives  to  God. 

"  Still  o'er  these  scenes  my  memory  wakes'; 
And  fondly  broods  with  miser  care  : 
Time  but  the  impression  deeper  makes. 
As  streams  their  channels  deeper  wear.'* 

I  don't  for  one  moment  doubt  that  many  of  you  have 
come  from  a  home  just  as  dear  and  holy  as  Timothy's  at 
Lystra  was.  Ail  your  early  surroundings  were  in  your 
favour.  If  you  haven't  turned  out  well,  you  should  have 
done  so.  You  came  out  of  an  admirable  nest.  The  ship 
was  launched  from  a  first-rate  building  yard. 

Secondly.  Those  **  prophecies "  were  justified  in  the 
case  of  young  Timothy,  by  his  thorough  acquaintance 
with  Holy  Scripture. 

What  is  that  we  read  in  Paul's  Epistle  to  him  (iii.  15, 
Revised  Version)  ?  "  From  a  babe  thou  hast  known  the 
sacred  writings,  which  are  able  to  make  thee  wise  unto 
salvation."  From  a  babe.  It  is  the  same  Greek  word 
which  Luke  uses  wlicn  he  says,  "  And  they  brought  unto 
Jesus  infants,  that  He  would  touch  them." 

As  soon  as  he  was  capable  of  learning  anything  he  was 
taught  the  Word  of  God.  The  first  impressions  his  mind 
received  were  of  religious  truth.  His  mother,  as  a  pious 
Hebrewess,  regarded  it  as  her  main  duty  to  her  child,  to 


58  The  City  Youth, 

make  him  acquainted  with  Holy  Scripture.  Of  course 
the  New  Testament  was  not  yet  written,  and  the  reference 
is  to  the  writings  of  Moses,  the  Psalms,  and  the  Prophets. 
But  the  young  child's  mind  was  stocked  and  saturated 
with  Divine  truth.  This  was  fitted  to  be  to  him  an 
incalculable  blessing.  Such  instruction  may  be  expected 
to  have  a  salutary  influence  on  the  whole  future  life. 

A  boy  who  knows  his  Bible,  and  is  well  up  in  Scripture 
studies,  starts  life  with  great  advantage.  He  gives  promise 
of  keeping  on  the  right  rails.  Many  of  you  are  thus 
privileged.  You  have  the  Bible  at  your  finger  ends. 
Thanks  to  your  early  training,  you  are  no  strangers  to  the 
Word  of  God.  You  have  had  an  excellent  religious  up- 
bringing. Your  memory  is  stored  with  precious  passages 
of  Scripture.  It  won't  be  the  fault  of  your  parents,  or 
your  Sunday  School  teacher,  if  you  turn  aside  .from  the 
right  way. 

Thirdly.  There  was  yet  another  thing  that  justified  those 
early  "  prophecies  "  of  a  good  career  for  Timothy.  And 
this  was  the  personal  character  of  the  lad.  He  was  a 
well-disposed,  quiet,  thoughtful,  serious  youth.  He  never 
gave  his  mother  any  trouble.  He  was  steady,  honest,  and 
moral.     He  bore  an  excellent  character  in  his  native  place. 

We  read  as  much  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  for  it  is 
there  stated  that  *'  he  was  well  reported  of  by  the  brethren 
that  were  at  Lystra  and  Iconium." 

It  is  a  good  sign  of  a  young  fellow,  when,  in  the  town 
and  village  where  he  was  born  and  bred,  every  one  is 
ready  to  speak  well  of  him. 

Thus  we  have  seen  what  is  meant  by  a  fair  start  in  life. 

It  is  like  a  vessel  gliding  down  the  slip  on  the  launching 
day,  when,  all  the  hammering  ended,  and  gay  bunting 
flying  everywhere,  and  loud  huzzas  rendering  the  air,  she 
softly  slides  out  into  the  open  main !      Who.  ow  such  a 


Making  Shipwreck  of  the  SouL  59 

day;  would  augur  her  lying  ^a  pitiful  wreck  on  some 
foreign  reef? 

II.  Now  for  the  good  eqiiipinent.  It  is  thus  described: 
**  Holding  faith  and  a  good  conscience."  Two  very 
excellent  and  necessary  things.  Shall  we  call  conscience 
the  compass  to  direct  the  ship's  course,  and  faith  the  sails 
that  are  to  impel  her  on  her  way  } 

Well,  no  vessel  that  wants  either  of  these  things  is  fit  to 
go  to  sea. 

Without  the  one,  her  path  through  the  deep  will  be 
uncertain,  and  therefore  dangerous ;  without  the  other, 
she  will  have  no  force  to  carry  her  forward. 

I  understand  the  Apostle,  in  this  passage,  to  mean  by 
*'  faith "  the  system  of  doctrine  commonly  called  the 
Gospel :  "  The  Christian  faith,"  as  it  is  often  styled  ;  the 
compendium  of  truth  regarding  the  way  of  salvation  ;  not 
excluding,  however,  a  sincere  belief  and  acceptance  of  it. 

A  man  has  a  poor  chance  of  a  happy  and  successful 
voyage  over  the  sea  of  life,  if,  in  entering  upon  it,  he  lacks 
either  a  good  conscience  or  a  sound  faith. 

First.  "A  good  conscience."  I  take  them  in  this  order, 
because,  generally,  the  whisper  of  conscience  is  heard 
even  prior  to  the  adoption  of  a  definite  faith.  In  matters 
of  spiritual  navigation,  the  compass  is  fixed  before  the 
canvas  is  set.  I  do  not  hesitate  to  say,  you  may  find 
thoroughly  conscientious  men  who  are  not  yet  believers. 
Paul  could  testify  before  the  council,  speaking  even  of  his 
life  prior  to  conversion,  "  ]Men  and  brethren,  I  have  lived 
in  all  good  conscience  before  God  until  this  day."  Con- 
science is  the  testimony  or  secret  judgment  of  the  soul, 
giving  its  approbation  to  actions  that  are  good,  or  reproach- 
ing it  with  actions  that  are  evil.  Something  of  this  is 
found  in  every  man  that  is  born  into  the  world.  As  soon 
as  intelligence  begins  and  reason  dawns,  it  gives  evidence 


6o  The  City  Youth. 

of  its  existence.  But  this  inward  monitor  maybe  crushed, 
may  be  perverted,  may  be  bribed,  may  be  benumbed ;  and 
then  it  becomes  a  bad  conscience,  like  a  will-o'-the-wisp, 
leading  a  man  astray.  Yours,  sir,  is  a  bad  conscience, 
when,  without  upbraiding  you  and  making  you  miserable, 
it  allows  you  to  go  into  bad  company,  to  frequent  the 
haunts  of  dissipation,  to  profane  the  Lord's  day,  to  neglect 
His  ordinances,  to  read  unclean  literature,  and  to  satisfy 
yourself  with  all  sorts  of  vain  excuses. 

Yours  is  a  drugged  and  evil  conscience,  William,  when 
you  can  lie  down  to  rest  at  night  and  sleep  soundly, 
though  you  have  offered  no  prayer  to  God,  and  have  no 
reason  to  know  that  He  is  at  peace  with  you.  Oh,  thank 
God,  young  men — ay,  even  though  you  be  not  true 
Christians — if,  at  your  every  departure  from  righteousness, 
that  mysterious  monitor  in  your  breast  sounds  the  alarm. 

*'  Yet  still  there  whispers  the  small  voice  within, 
Heard  through  gain's  silence,  and  o'er  glory's  din  ; 
Whatever  creed  be  taught,  or  land  be  trod, 
Man's  conscience  is  the  oracle  of  God." 

"A  good  conscience"  is  one  that  is  tender,  sensitive, 
and  pure  ;  like  a  sound  compass,  whose  magnetism  has  not 
been  injured,  it  will  guide  you  aright.  To  be  altogether 
safe  and  good,  it  must  be  under  the  direction  of  God's 
truth ;  for  the  mere  moralist  may  be  scrupulously  con- 
scientious, and  yet  far  from  the  standard  which  the  Gospel 
requires. 

Gentlemen,  let  me  urge  you  all  to  see  to  it,  in  setting 
forth  upon  the  sea  of  active  life,  that  you  are  furnished 
with  a  good  conscience,  else  I  see  nothing  but  shipwreck 
before  you. 

Like  the  noble  Paul,  "  herein  exercise  yourselves,  to 
have  always  a  conscience  void  of  offence  toward  God  and 
toward  man." 


Making  Shipivreck  of  the  SozcL  6i 

But,  secondly,  you  want  something-  more.  If  you  are 
to  be  fully  equipped,  you  must  also  have  a  sound  and 
living  faith.  You  will  not  come  to  much  good  without 
this.  A  compass  is  an  admirable  thing,  but  you  will 
not  come  much  speed  if  that  is  all  the  ship  is  provided 
with  ;  there  must  also  be  the  unfurled  canvas,  which,  filled 
with  the  breath  of  heaven,  will  give  it  energy  and  motion. 
A  living  faith  must  be  based  on  a  definite  creed.  You 
cannot  be  a  believer  unless  there  is  something  that  you 
believe.  There  is  an  affectation  very  popular  at  the 
present  day,  to  believe  nothing.  Our  young  philosophic 
friend  says  he  will  keep  his  mind  open  and  uncommitted  ; 
he  has  a  horror  of  dogma  ;  he  will  keep  a  good  conscience, 
but  will  have  no  fixed  religious  creed. 

My  good  sir,  you  may  just  as  well  send  a  schooner  out 
to  sea  without  an  inch  of  sail  upon  her,  and  expect  her 
to  reach  the  distant  port,  as  imagine  that,  without  a 
clearly  formulated  belief  and  a  personal  faith,  you  can 
cross  the  ocean  of  life,  and  make  for  the  celestial  heaven. 

No,  no.  Take  away  a  young  man's  religion,  and  he 
is  the  easy  prey  of  all  manner  of  evil.  If  you  want  to 
destroy  a  man's  morals,  rob  him  of  his  Bible. 

A  brig  fifteen  hundred  miles  out  from  land,  without 
one  square  yard  of  canvas,  is  better  off  than  a  young 
man  who  has  no  religion  and  no  faith. 

You  may  be  very  well  conducted,  you  may  be  steady, 
you  may  be  clever ;  but  you  want  more  than  all  that  to 
equip  you  for  the  work  of  life.  No  natural  gifts  can  take 
the  place  of  a  spiritual  religion. 

A  man's  very  accomplishments  have  proved  his  ruin. 
Who  will  deny  that  decided  genius  has  shipwrecked  many 
a  promising  life  ?  I  have  not  a  doubt  that  Burns,  and 
Byron,  and  Shelley,  and  Goethe,  and  Paine,  and  Vol- 
taire, that  each  of  them,  in  the  absence  of  a  sustaining 


62  The  City  Yoiiih, 

faith,   suffered   moral    disaster  just  in   proportion   to   his 
genius. 

If  a  ship  is  heavily  freighted  with  costly  treasures,  all  the 
more  does  it  need  to  have  its  sails  well  spread  to  the  wind. 

There  is  no  class  of  persons  that  so  stir  my  loving 
sympathy  as  young  men  in  a  big  city,  especially  if  they 
are  comparatively  strangers  and  alone.  A  too  limited 
salary  to  live  on  ;  solicited  on  all  hands  to  drink,  or  go 
into  bad  company ;  their  religion  caricatured  ;  their  purity 
and  principles  laughed  at ;  why,  unless  God  Almighty 
help  them,  they  must  go  under. 

But  God  will  help  you,  if  you  put  your  trust  in  Him. 
Don't  part  with  your  Christian  faith,  whatever  you  do. 
*'  Hold  faith  and  a  good  conscience,"  and  you  will  brave 
the  heaviest  storm. 

In  youi:  lodging,  though  it  may  be  a  back  room  and  on 
the  fourth  floor,  keep  a  Bible  always  on  your  table,  as  a 
testimony  that  you  mean  to  stick  to  the  faith  of  your 
fathers.  Every  morning  before  you  leave  your  room, 
every  night  before  you  lie  down,  pray  to  the  God  whom 
this  book  reveals.  Make  that  little  room  your  Gibraltar, 
your  Sebastopol,  your  Mount  Zion.  Never  come  out  of 
it  without  committing  yourself  anew  to  your  Saviour. 

Thus  furnished  with  a  good  conscience  and  a  true  faith, 
you  will  sail  the  voyage  of  life  in  safety,  and  at  last  reach 
the  everlasting  haven.     But  stay,  our  text  tells  us 

III.  Of  a  fatal  disaster — a  spiritual  shipwreck.  The 
Apostle  says  that  some  persons — and  he  goes  on  to 
mention  two  instances,  "  Hymeneus  and  Alexander " — 
having  put  away  a  good  conscience,  and  lost  their  faith, 
had  become  morally  shipwrecked. 

Paul  does  not  for  a  moment  hint  that  Timothy  would  do 
so.  Nay,  as  he  indicates  in  his  Second  Epistle,  he  was 
sure  he  would  not  do  so. 


MaJdng  Shipwreck  of  the  SouL  ^2^ 

He  who  had  begun  the  good  work  in  him,  would  carry 
it  forward  to  perfection. 

Where  there  is  a  genuine  work  of  grace,  it  will  not  be 
allowed  to  die.  But  we  do  well  to  be  upon  our  guard, 
and  especially  must  be  careful  how  we  trifle  with  conscience. 
The  fatal  course,  usually,  is  this  :  First,  put  away  a  good 
conscience ;  secondly,  lose  your  faith  ;  and  thirdly,  make 
shipwreck  of  your  soul. 

The  compass  is  thrown  overboard  ;  the  sails  are  cariied 
'  away ;  the  vessel  is  shattered  on  the  rocks. 

Nearly  every  man  who  goes  wrong  begins  by  tampering 
with  conscience.  He  stifles  its  admonitions,  subdues, 
crushes,  silences  it ;  or,  if  it  will  not  be  quiet,  pays  no 
heed  to  its  remonstrance.  This  goes  on  for  a  time,  and 
then  his  Christian  faith  gives  way.  His  moral  errors 
distort  his  judgment  and  poison  his  mind.  The  heart 
soon  aff"ects  the  head.  Going  on  in  an  evil  course,  he 
begins  to  doubt ;  he  is  an  easy  prey  to  infidel  thoughts  ; 
and  away  go  all  his  religious  convictions.  Now  remember, 
the  Apostle  shows  himself  here  a  true  dissecter  of  human 
nature.  I  can  witness  to  the  accuracy  of  his  diagnosis. 
I  have  seen  it  hundreds  of  times. 

Two  young  fellows  begin  life  on  parallel  lines.  They 
are  equals  as  regards  intelligence,  and  alike  in  character 
and  religious  faith.  They  are  thrown  in  the  way  of  the 
same  class  of  temptations. 

The  one  remains  steadfast ;  will  not  yield  an  inch  ; 
stamps  his  foot  on  every  solicitation  to  impurity  and  vice ; 
is  conscientious  in  money  matters  to  a  fraction;  is  honour- 
able and  straightforward,  and  above  a  shadow  of  reproach. 
The  other  yields  to  the  tempter;  gets  ofl"  the  rails  of 
virtue ;  drives  conscience  behind  him  ;  sinks  deeper  into 
uncleanness ;  and  presently  loses  his  character  and  self- 
respect. 


64  The  City  Youth, 

If  I  tell  you  the  sad  fact  that  one  of  these  young  men  has 
become  a  scoffer ;  that  he  has  thrown  off  Christianity,  and 
is  now  next  door  to  an  Atheist ;  will  you  take  two  minutes 
to  guess  which  of  the  two  it  is  ?  Ah  !  too  well  you  know 
that  when  a  good  conscience  is  put  away,  faith  soon 
follows ;  and  then  there  is  nothing  to  look  forward  to  but 
spiritual  shipwreck!  Most  men  who  become  infidels  do 
so  because  they  wish  to  be  unfettered  in  their  indulgence 
in  sin. 

So  long  as  a  young  Christian  keeps  a  good  conscience, 
I  am  not  much  afraid  of  his  lapsing  into  scepticism. 

Hymeneus  and  Alexander  are  both  mentioned  again  in 
the  Second  Epistle,  but  in  neither  place  to  their  credit. 
The  former  took  up  some  whim  about  the  *'  resurrection 
being  already  past,"  but  he  became  a  dangerous  character, 
for  "  his  word  ate  as  doth  a  cancer,"  and  he  "  overthrew 
the  faith  of  some."  The  latter,  who  was  a  coppersmith, 
or  rather  brazier,  must  have  been  brazen-faced  enough, 
for  "he  greatly  withstood  the  Apostle's  words." 

Neither  of  them  came  to  good ;  they  perished  in  their 
unbelief. 

Foolish  men  !  they  hoisted  their  mutinous  flags,  and 
thought  to  draw  away  after  them  the  whole  Christian  fleet: 
and,  lo  !  there  they  are,  lying  two  pitiful  wrecks,  over 
which  the  wind  moans  its  eternal  dirge.  This  has  been 
the  history  of  hundreds  and  thousands  since. 

I  was  looking  not  long  ago  upon  a  full-sized  statue  of 
Voltaire,  and  as  I  gazed  upon  the  leering,  vapid  counte- 
iKince  of  the  great  infidel  jester,  I  thought  of  the  vain  boast 
with  which  he  summed  up  his  whole  literary  life :  *'  I  am 
tired  of  hearing  it  said  that  twelve  men  were  enough  to 
establish  Christianity.  I  hope  to  show  that  only  one  is 
necessary  for  its  destruction."     Poor  Voltaire  !  " 

Christianity  lives — never  had  more  life  than  now :  and 


Making  Shipwreck  of  the  SouL  65 

he  is  forgotten,  save  for  the  moral  evil  which  he  wrought ! 
Ah  !  I  have  known  repeated  instances  of  young  men 
whose  career  opened  with  every  promise  of  happiness  and 
success ;  but  having  put  away  a  good  conscience,  and 
having  lost  the  faith,  they  are  to-day  like  melancholy 
wrecks,  whose  broken  spars  and  dreary  rafters,  clad  in  the 
crape  of  seaweed,  protrude  above  the  wild  waters  that 
surge  and  wash  over  them :  and  as  a  messenger  from 
Trinity  House,,  from  the  House  of  the  Holy  and  ever- 
blessed  Trinity  of  Heaven,  I  come  to-night  to  fix  a  beacon- 
light  upon  the  spot,  and  say  to  everyone  of  you,  **  Be  ware! 
Beware  I " 


''AS  THE  MAN  IS,  SO  IS  HIS  STRENGTH" 


**  As  the  man  is^  so  is  his  strength.'''' — ^Judges  viii.  21, 


V. 

'*AS  THE  MA^  IS,  SO  IS  HIS  STRENGTH:* 

IT  is  a  strange  and  tragic  history  that  of  Gideon,  the  fifth, 
and  for  many  reasons  the  greatest,  of  all  the  Judges  of 
Israel.  As  the  curtain  rises  upon  him,  we  behold  a  man 
in  the  prime  of  life,  busily  engaged  in  agricultural  toil. 
Like  many  a  fine  and  noble  spirit  since,  he  sprang  from 
humble  birth,  and  felt  no  shame  in  owning  it.  He  said, 
"  My  family  is  poor  in  IManasseh,  and  I  am  the  least  in 
my  father's  house:"  (by  which  he  probably  meant  the 
youngest,  for,  as  we  shall  find,  he  was  a  man  of  tall  and 
commanding  presence).  The  old  gentleman,  Joash  by 
name,  kept  a  farm  at  Ophrah,  in  the  country  of  Gilead  ;  and 
on  our  first  acquaintance  with  Gideon,  he  is  busy  thresh- 
ing wheat  for  the  family,  not  on  the  open  threshing-floor, 
but  in  a  concealed  corner  behind  the  wine-press,  in  order 
to  hide  it  from  the  IMidianites.  This  warlike  Arabian 
race,  like  other  nomad  tribes,  invaded  the  fat  country  of 
Palestine  every  year,  especially  about  the  time  of  harvest, 
and  an  infinite  nuisance  they  were  to  the  people  of  Israel. 
Like  the  Bedouins  of  the  present  day,  they  would  come 
down  in  great  hordes,  trampling  the  fields,  plundering  the 
vineyards  and  gardens,  and  laying  their  hands  on  cattle 
and  grain,  and  everything  they  could  carry  away.  This 
sort  of  thing  had  now  gone  on  for  seven  years,  and  the 
people  could   endure  it  no  longer;  yet  no  leader  seemed 


70  The  City  Youth, 

to  arise  who  was  equal  to  the  occasion.  At  last,  the  Lord 
summoned  Gideon  to  the  task,  and  the  call  came  to  him 
as  he  was  busy  with  his  flail.  Never  was  man  more  taken 
by  surprise.  It  was  the  last  thing  he  had  dreamt  of.  But 
in  his  case,  as  with  many,  the  call  to  a  post  of  honour  and 
distinction  came  whilst  he  was  industriously  pursuing  the 
common  duties  of  life.  So  it  was  with  Moses,  to  whom 
the  voice  of  God  came  as  he  was  tending  the  sheep  ;  so 
it  was  with  David,  who  was  similarly  occupied  ;  so  it  was 
with  Matthew,  busily  engaged  in  the  revenue  office,  when 
Christ  called  him  to  discipleship ;  so  with  Simon  and 
Andrew,  with  James  and  John,  mending  their  fishing-nets 
on  the  shores  of  Galilee.  It  is  to  the  busy,  not  the 
idle  ;  to  the  contented,  not  the  ambitious ;  to  the  humble, 
not  the  vain,  that  the  posts  of  eminence  and  usefulness 
generally  open  up.  Whatever  your  present  sphere,  fulfil 
its  duties  thoroughly  and  well ;  this  is  the  likeliest  course 
to  future  advancement.  Your  work,  my  lad,  can  scarcely 
be  humbler  than  flogging  corn  with  a  flail ;  but  do  it  to 
the  best  of  your  ability;  and  when  you  least  expect  it 
preferment  will  come.  Well,  as  time  is  limited,  we  must 
leap  over  an  interval,  and  come  upon  our  hero  as  he  is  in 
the  thick  of  battle  with  the  Midianites,  in  the  valley  of 
Esdraelon.  Here  we  find  him,  at  the  head  of  an  army 
of  32,000  men,  encamped  by  the  brook  or  well  of  Harod. 
The  enemy,  as  it  appears,  was  immensely  more  numerous  : 
but,  lest  the  glory  of  victory  on  the  side  of  Israel  should 
seem  to  belong  to  man,  that  host  must  be  diminished  in 
numbers  ere  the  battle  is  begun.  By  two  operations  of 
an  extraordinary  character  the  reduction  is  accomplished. 
In  the  first  place,  General  Gideon,  as  divinely  instructed, 
issues  a  proclamation  to  his  men,  that,  if  there  are  any 
timid  or  faint-hearted  ones  amongst  them  they  may  back 
cut  and  retire.     If  you  had  but  seen  the  effect !     Fine 


**As  the  Man  is,  so  is  his  Strength,*^     71 

soldiers  they  were  !  Instantly  22,000  bolted,  and,  showing- 
the  white  feather,  scampered  off  to  the  mountains  of 
Gilead.  The  remaining  10,000  are  still  too  large  a  host; 
another  thinning  process  must  be  applied.  They  were 
all  therefore  taken  down  to  the  waterside,  and  a  thirsty 
company  they  were,  and  lazy  too ;  for,  whilst  300 
of  them  smartly  lapped  the  water  from  their  hands  like 
men  in  haste,  97  per  cent,  lay  down  leisurely  to  drink.  It 
was  but  a  small  thing  that  marked  the  difference  between 
them,  still  it  indicated  a  specific  quality ;  and  as  all  the 
cowards  had  been  sent  about  their  business,  so  all  the 
languid  and  lazy  ones  are  now  dismissed.  Remember, 
young  men,  when  the  Lord  is  about  to  do  a  great  work  by 
human  instrumentality  He  must  have  men  of  courage  and 
men  of  energy.  You  are  never  good  for  much  in  His 
service  unless  you  are  both  brave  and  active. 

Well  now,  what  about  the  select  three  hundred  ?  They 
are  divided  into  three  companies  of  a  hundred  each,  every 
man  being  supplied,  in  addition  to  his  sword,  with  a 
trumpet,  a  lamp,  and  an  earthenware  pitcher.  (The 
pitcher  merely  served  to  conceal  the  lamp,  or  rather  torch, 
until  the  moment  it  should  be  required.)  Some  silly 
people  make  fun  of  Gideon's  army,  as  if  they  acted  like 
a  set  of  maniacs ;  I  assert,  on  the  contrary,  that,  in  view 
of  the  methods  of  warfare  of  those  times,  the  plan  they 
adopted  was  admirably  fitted  to  secure  the  end  in  view. 
It  was  arranged  that  at  dead  of  night  they  were  silently 
to  approach  the  enemy  at  three  different  points,  and  at 
one  and  the  same  instant,  following  the  example  of 
Gideon,  were  to  smash  the  flagons,  hold  aloft  the  torches, 
blow  the  trumpets,  and  shriek  the  war-cry,  "The  sword 
of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon."  They  would  be  made  of 
tough  material,  any  army  that  would  not  be  startled  out 
of  their  senses  by  such  a  demonstration.     The  manoeuvre 


72  The  City  Youth, 

had  the  desired  effect ;  the  enemy  were  stricken  with 
panic,  and  thrown  into  hopeless  confusion :  and,  being 
unable  to  distinguish  friend  from  foe,  went  on  slaughter- 
ing one  another.  The  routed  Midianites  fled  towards  the 
Jordan,  only,  however,  to  find  their  path  of  flight  inter- 
cepted, for  the  Ephraimites  had  seized  the  lower  fords, 
and  cut  off  all  who  attempted  to  escape.  The  upper  fords 
were  held  by  Gideon  himself,  who  followed  in  pursuit  of 
two  eminent  Midianitish  chiefs,  named  Zeba  and  Zal- 
munna,  and  had  crossed  the  river  a  little  below  the  Lake 
of  Gennesaret.  On  that,  the  western  side  of  the  Jordan, 
however,  his  victory  was  not  credited,  and  the  people 
refused  to  side  with  him ;  the  men  of  Succoth  and  Penuel 
in  particular  making  themselves  obnoxious,  and  denying 
bread  to  Gideon's  faint  and  hungry,  but  brave,  little  army. 
Gideon  vowed  they  would  catch  it  when,  having  captured 
the  two  princes,  he  should  return  that  way.  And  he  was 
as  good  as  his  word  ;  for  he  levelled  the  tower  of  Penuel 
to  the  ground,  and  taking  thorny  branches  of  the  trees, 
administered  severe  corporal  castigation  to  the  men  of 
Succoth.  In  those  days  eminent  captives  taken  in  war 
were  generally  put  to  death ;  and  no  doubt  Zeba  and 
Zalmunna  made  sure  that  if  they  were  taken  prisoners, 
that  would  be  their  fate.  I  see  the  brave  and  intrepid 
Gideon  overtaking  them,  and  their  owai  men  fleeing  ofl"  in 
dismay.  I  see  the  two  proud  chiefs,  high-mounted  on 
their  camels,  with  armour  gaudily  adorned,  and  brilliant 
jewellery  on  nose  and  ear,  on  neck  and  arm.  I  hear  the 
jingling  of  the  golden  chains,  and  the  crescent-shaped 
collars  and  trappings  of  the  camels.  Gideon  had  merci- 
fully intended  to  spare  the  lives  of  these  Arab  sheikhs. 
But  he  is  smarting  under  the  loss  of  his  elder  brothers, 
and  he  has  a  suspicion  as  to  who  it  was  that  shed  their 
blood.     The  first  question  he  puts  is,  "  What  manner  of 


**  As  the  Alan  is,  so  is  his  Strength ^     73 

men  were  those  wnom  ye  slew  at  Tabor  ? "  The  reply 
of  the  haughty  chiefs  was  significant,  "  As  thou  art,  so 
were  they  ;  each  one  resembled  the  children  of  a  king." 
**  i\Iy  own  brothers ! "  exclaimed  Gideon,  as  the  dark 
scowl  gathered  upon  his  brow.  ''  Jether,  my  firstborn, 
get  up  and  slay  them,  and  avenge  your  uncle/  blood." 
But  the  lad  feared,  for  he  was  but  a  beardless  youth. 
There  is  a  moment  of  terrible  suspense.  Like  noble  sons 
of  the  desert,  Zeba  and  Zalmunna  prepare  for  their  fate 
without  fear  or  weakness.  But  shrinking  from  the  thought 
of  meeting  death  at  the  hand  of  that  smooth-cheeked  boy, 
and  looking  upon  the  massi-ve  form  of  the  stalwart,  lordly 
Gideon,  they  entreat  that  he  himself  shall  be  the  execu- 
tioner ;  adding,  in  the  words  of  my  text,  **  For  as  the  man 
is,  so  is  his  strength." 

Now  I  have  made  an  effort  to  set  the  picture  fairly 
before  you,  that  you  may  form  your  own  opinion  as  to 
what  those  desert  chieftains  meant.  And  yet  I  think  the 
purport  of  their  words  is  not  obscure.  Since  they  must 
die  they  would  rather  fall  by  the  hand  of  a  strong  man, 
and  a  great  commander  such  as  Gideon,  than  by  the  hand 
of  a  mere  stripling  like  his  son  ;  and  that,  first,  because 
his  stout  arm  would  be  more  likely  to  despatch  them 
quickly,  and  save  them  from  a  painful  and  lingering  death  ; 
and,  secondly,  because  such  an  end  would  be  less  igno- 
minious. It  was  on  the  same  principle,  that,  at  a  later 
date,  as  recorded  in  the  next  chapter,  Gideon's  own  son 
Abimelcch,  when  he  met  with  a  fatal  blow  at  the  tower 
of  Thebez  by  a  stone  thrown  from  a  woman's  hand, 
entreated  his  armour-bearer  instantly  to  despatch  him  with 
his  sword.  This  is  how  the  story  is  told.  "And  a  certain 
woman  cast  a  piece  of  a  millstone  upon  Abimelech's  head, 
and  all  to  break  his  skull.  Then  he  called  hastily  unto  the 
young  man  his  armour-bearer,  and  said  unto  hin^.,  Draw 


74  The  City  Youth, 

thy  sword  and  slay  me,  that  men  say  not  of  me,  a  woman 
slew  him."  So,  these  bronzed  warriors  of  Midian  shrank 
from  the  thought  of  being  slain  by  a  lad,  and  therefore 
begged  his  strong-armed  father  to  give  the  blow ;  and 
methinks  it  was  an  ancient  proverb  of  the  East  that  leaped 
to  their  lips,  as  they  added,  **  For,  as  the  man  is,  so  is  his 
strength." 

Like  many  a  wise  saw  of  the  olden  time,  the  text 
contains  much  truth  in  small  bulk;  and  I  shall  borrow 
from  it  a  few  hints,  to  make  my  subject  practical. 

I.  Plainly,  the  first  meaning  of  it  is,  that,  as  a  man 
is  physically,  so  is  his  strength.  If  we  are  to  estimate 
him  by  his  muscular  strength,  we  must  take  into  account 
his  bodily  form,  his  age,  his  health,  his  build,  his  stature. 
Gideon  belonged,  as  we  may  say,  to  the  order  of  nature's 
nobility.  He  was  a  man  of  splendid  figure  and  bearing, 
of  a  tall  and  commanding  presence.  That  arm  of  his 
could  do  mighty  execution,  whether  it  wielded  the  flail, 
or  the  sword,  or  the  prickly  branches  of  the  thorn-trees  at 
Succoth.  Whatever  work  it  undertook,  it  would  do  with 
thoroughness  and  effect.  When  the  two  warrior  chiefs 
were  questioned  as  to  the  men  they  had  slain  at  Tabor, 
they  replied  to  Gideon  thus,  "  As  thou  art,  so  were  they  ; 
each  one  resembled  the  children  of  a  king."  Now,  it  is 
perfectly  true,  that  we  cannot  give  to  ourselves  a  handsome 
mien,  nor  add  one  cubit  to  our  stature  ;  nevertheless,  it  is 
equally  true — and  of  none  more  true  than  young  men — 
that  we  can  do  much  to  promote  our  health,  to  build  up 
our  constitution,  and  even  to  give  dignity  to  our  physical 
presence.  By  a  regular  life,  by  moderation  m  diet,  by 
scrupulous  temperance,  by  due  bodily  exercise,  by  habits 
of  order  and  cleanliness  every  one  of  you  can  do  not  a 
little  in  this  direction  ;  and  in  many  a  case  it  is  easy  to 
perceive,  on  our  first  glance  of  a  man,  either,  on  the  one 


*^  As  the  Man  is,  so  is  his  Strength,'*^     75 

hand,  that  he  is  loose  and  slovenly  in  his  habits,  or,  on 
the  other,  that  he  is  orderly  and  regular.  The  younger 
lads  before  me  will  forgive  me  saying  this  is  of  far  more 
importance  than  some  of  you  imagine  ;  and  the  eminent 
success  and  rapid  advance  of  many  a  youth  has,  to  my 
certain  knowledge,  been  due  in  no  small  measure  to  his 
personal  appearance,  and  pleasing  and  manly  bearing. 
Of  course,  there  are  walks  of  life  where  this  will  not  show 
so  much  ;  but,  as  a  rule,  it  is  safe  to  say  that,  given  a 
good  address,  a  smart  and  gentlemanly  (not  slouching 
and  clownish)  exterior,  a  young  man's  chances  of  prefer- 
ment are  decidedly  greater,  and  the  axiom  generally  holds 
good,  that,  as  the  man  is,  even  in  outward  physique,  so 
is  his  success  and  strength. 

II.  Take  it  in  another  way ;  as  a  man  is  inteUectuallyy 
so  is  his  strength.  I  use  the  word  *'  strength ''  here,  as 
meaning  power  of  work,  capacity  for  accomplishing  the 
ends  of  life,  and  making  the  world  the  better  for  his 
existence.  I  suppose  that,  during  the  past  hundred  years, 
no  proverb  has  been  more  often  quoted,  as  none  has  been 
more  largely  illustrated,  than  the  pithy  aphorism  of  Lord 
Bacon,  "  Knowledge  is  power  ;  "  a  truth  to  which  a  wiser 
than  Bacon  virtually  gave  expression  3,000  years  ago, 
when  Solomon  wrote — '*  If  the  iron  be  blunt,  and  he  do 
not  whet  the  edge,  then  must  he  put  to  more  strength ; 
but  wisdom  is  profitable  to  direct."  I  don't  need  to  tell 
you,  young  men  (for  you  know  it  as  well  as  I),  that  the  day 
for  stone  hatchets  and  blunt  axes  is  past ;  and  that,  from 
the  humblest  craft  to  the  most  exalted,  in  order  to 
succeed,  it  is  requisite  to  have  intelligence  and  brains. 
I  have  heard  some  of  our  wealthy  self-made  city  men  say, 
that  out  of  every  hundred  youths  who  come  to  them,  not 
five  have  really  got  a  head  on  their  shoulders  ,  they  want 
gumption,    shrewdness,   and    sound    common-sense.      01 


76  The  City  Youth. 

course,  you  must  have  education.  In  these  days  of  School 
Boards  and  technical  instruction,  and  evening  classes  of 
all  sorts,  a  man  is  sadly  handicapped  without  a  thorough 
schooling ;  but  mere  schooling  will  never  give  a  man 
common-sense.  You  want  to  have  your  eyes  open,  and 
your  wits  awake ;  to  be  sharp,  and  ready,  and  active. 
The  quick-witted  Jack  will  generally  have  the  advantage 
over  the  slow-witted  giant.  The  commerce  of  England 
is  not  indeed  in  the  hands  of  learned  scholars  ;  but  it  is, 
for  the  most  part,  in  the  hands  of  shrewd,  clear-headed, 
practical  men,  who  understand  their  business,  and  know 
how  to  push  it.  There  are  lads  who  come  up  from  the 
country  to  London,  thinking  they  will  be  such  an  acquisi- 
tion to  the  metropolis,  that  the  moment  they  knock  at 
the  door  of  a  merchant's  office,  they  will  immediately  be 
invited  to  an  excellent  situation ;  but  are  startled  to  find 
that  they  are  not  in  such  demand.  The  fact  is,  many  of 
them  are  such  mulls  and  greenhorns,  that  nobody  would 
accept  their  services  for  nothing.  They  have  moved  all 
their  days  in  a  narrow  groove,  and  have  no  idea  how  to 
get  out  of  it.  Tliey  want  pliableness  and  versatility.  And 
unless  they  take  on  a  little  of  this,  and  intelligently  adapt 
themselves  to  their  work,  they  had  better  take  the  first 
train  back  to  whence  they  came.  [Send  this  sermon, 
with  my  compliments,  to  your  country  cousin  who  talks 
of  coming  up  to  town  to  look  out  for  a  situation.]  This 
age  of  keen  competition  demands  men  of  brains  :  and  it 
is  mind  that  conquers  matter.  Throughout  tliis  little 
island  of  ours,  to-morrow  and  during  the  rest  of  the  week, 
majhinery  will  be  set  in  motion,  doing  the  work  of  five 
millions  of  men  ;  in  other  words,  the  machines  of  England 
Lind  Scotland  will  this  week  weave  as  much  cloth,  and 
prepare  as  much  food,  and  supply  the  world's  inhabitants 
with  .is  many  commodities  as  (if  made  by  hand)  would 


^*  As  the  Man  is,  so  is  his  Strength^      77 

require  the  combined  active  industry  of  the  whole  adult 
population  of  the  globe.  Thus  intellect  becomes  an 
equivalent  for  strength,  and  mind  means  money.  In  real 
power  of  work,  the  skilled  artisan  leaves  the  mere  labourer 
far  behind,  and  the  thoughtful  clerk  the  mere  mechanical 
penman  ;  so  that  as  a  man  is  in  intelligence  so  is  his 
strength. 

III.  There  is  still  another  use  which  I  would  make  of 
the  text.  This  old  adage  admits  of  a  yet  higher  applica- 
tion. Indeed,  in  no  sense  is  it  more  widely  and  markedly 
true  than  this :  as  a  man  is  viorally  and  spiritually,  so  is 
his  strength.  Character  and  faith,  I  will  venture  to  say, 
more  than  anything  else,  determine  your  power  of  over- 
coming difficulty  and  of  accomplishing  good.  This  is  the 
sure  gauge  of  your  personal  force  in  society  and  in  the 
world.  Without  a  moral  backbone  you  may  as  well  be  a 
jelly  fish,  for  any  real,  solid  good  you  will  accomplish. 
There  must  be  a  foundation  of  stern  principle,  or  you  will 
be  weak  as  water.  A  man  with  a  resolute  conscience  will 
always  be  a  power.  Of  course  conscience  may  be 
prejudiced  and  perverted :  and  we  must  remember  this, 
and  neither  attempt  to  make  our  own  conscience  a  law 
unto  others,  nor  judge  them  harshly  because  their  standard 
is  different  from  ours.  Sternly  upright  men  may  have 
crotchets,  at  which  other  men,  equally  good,  can  only 
laugh.  Pascal  truly  said  that  the  meaning  of  the  word 
"  character  "  varies  with  the  parallels  of  latitude  and  longi- 
tude. Your  moral  sense  may  be  drugged  by  the  air  it 
breathes,  as  men  get  giddy  in  wine  vaults  without  tasting 
alcohol.  I  heard  on  Friday  of  a  gin-palace  proprietor 
who  makes  a  practice  of  sitting  before  his  bar  on  Sundays 
with  a  large  Bible  lying  open  on  his  white  apron.  I  am 
told  that  in  Birmingham  bronze  idols  are  made  in  thou- 
sands for  the  Hindoos,  by  men  who  every  Sunday  pray 


78  The  City  Youth. 

for  their  conversion.  IMost  of  us  probably  think  such  men 
must  have  queer  consciences  ;  but  so  we  think  also  of  the 
Highlander  who  dares  not  shave  on  the  Sabbath,  and  of 
the  Welshman  who  considers  that  for  a  Christian  to  play 
a  game  at  football  is  a  sin.  I  admire  the  gallant  General 
Gordon  as  a  soldier,  but  I  would  as  little  like  him  for  a 
Prime  Minister  as  I  would  trust  him  as  a  theologian.  It 
is  a  grand  thing  to  have  a  conscience  at  once  sensitive 
and  sound  ;  to  have  an  acute  moral  sense  and  a  robust 
common  sense  combined.  There  are  no  finer  young  men 
in  this  city  than  those,  who,  to  a  clear,  practical,  all-round 
intelligence,  add  **a  conscience  void  of  offence  toward 
God  and  toward  man."  Such  a  lad  is  all  but  certain  to 
get  on  and  to  do  well  for  this  world,  not  to  speak  of  the 
next.  Character,  let  me  assure  you,  is  the  best  capital  in 
the  end.  A  youth  of  keen  sagacity,  and  at  the  same  time 
high  moral  tone,  is  an  article  of  great  marketable  value. 
I  have  known  young  fellows — they  are  not  young  now — 
w^ho  never  met  with  success,  and  insisted  that  Providence 
had  an  implacable  spite  against  them,  whereas  the  secret 
of  their  failure  lay  in  the  rottenness  of  their  own  character. 
They  could  not  be  trusted ;  and  knew  it.  Unstable  as 
water,  they  could  not  excel.  When  a  man's  life  is  wrong, 
and  his  heart  is  wrong,  he  must  be  weak.  It  cannot  be 
otherwise.  "As  the  man  is,  so  is  his  strength."  Without 
high  self-respect,  you  carry  no  momentum  with  you.  Isn't 
it  Robert  Burns  who  says — 

**  I  waive  the  quantum  of  the  sin, 
The  hazard  of  concealing; 
But,  oh  !  it  hardens  all  within, 
And  petrifies  the  feeling  "  ? 

Why,  to  mention  a  single  virtue,  as  a  man  is  in  truthful- 
ness, so  is  his  strength.  To  be  absolutely  transparent, 
honest  to  the  backbone,  above  the  shadow  of  suspicion,  is 


'*  As  the  Man  is,  so  is  his  Strength^     79 

a  splendid  possession.  *'  Is  he  as  good  as  his  word  ? 
Does  he  mean  precisely  what  he  says  ?  Can  he  be 
implicitly  replied  upon?"  An  emphatic  "Yes"  to  such 
questions  is  a  young  man's  '*  Open,  sesame ! "  before 
which  the  treasure  houses  of  life  throw  back  their  doors 
for  his  entrance.  Mirabeau,  the  notorious  infidel,  once 
said,  **  If  there  were  no  honesty  in  the  world,  it  would  be 
invented  as  a  means  of  getting  wealth."  Strict  integrity 
is  a  thing  of  high  commercial  value.  Young  men,  see 
that  ye  be  faithful  in  that  which  is  little.  Slur  no  part  of 
your  work.  Be  above  all  eye-service.  Be  as  careful  of 
your  employer's  time  as  of  your  own.  Regard  his  interests 
as  yours,  and  let  stern  truthfulness  rise  to  be  a  very 
instinct  of  your  being.  This  will  give  you  a  position  of 
strength  not  to  be  otherwise  attained. 

I  have  just  a  word  more.  As  I  look  at  that  noble,  coura- 
geous, successful  champion,  Gideon,  I  find  myself  saying, 
*' As  the  man  is  in  faith,  so  is  his  strength."  Ah!  that's 
the  main  point  of  all.  What  a  work  that  brave  soul  accom- 
plished, all  through  unshaken  confidence  in  his  God  !  Not 
by  human  means  verily.  Like  the  barley-cake  of  which  one 
of  his  soldiers  had  dreamed,  that  it  tumbled  into  the  host 
of  JMidian,  and  fell  upon  a  tent,  and  overturned  it ;  his  faith 
demolished  ever}^  difficulty  that  stood  in  the  way;  until, 
with  a  mere  handful  of  half-starved  men,  he  so  routed  and 
scattered  the  hosts  of  Midian  and  Amalek  (though  they 
*'  lay  along  in  the  valley  like  grasshoppers  for  multitude  "), 
that,  as  the  sacred  historian  tells  us,  "they  lifted  up  their 
heads  no  more." 

Be  that  faith  yours,  young  men,  and  you  shall  be 
strong,  and  shall  overcome  the  wicked  one.  There  is 
no  strength  in  the  world  to  compare  with  that  which 
faith  imparts,  especially  the  faith  which  lays  hold  of 
a    risen   and   all-sufiicient   Redeemer,    and    accepts    and 


8o  The  City  Youth. 

realises  Divine  pardon  through  Him,  and  the  guarantee 
of  all  needed  grace.  The  splendid  undertakings  of  an 
Alexander,  a  Hannibal,  a  Caesar,  are  nothing  to  the 
achievements  which  it  has  accomplished  :  the  most  glorious 
conquests  of  which  history  informs  us,  over  armed  squad- 
rons of  Persians,  of  Gauls,  of  Romans,  sink  into  insignifi- 
cance :  for  before  it  mountains  of  difficulty  have  been 
removed  and  cast  into  the  sea;  it  has  burst  open  gates 
of  iron,  has  arrested  the  sun  in  its  race,  stopped  the 
course  of  the  moon,  muzzled  raging  lions,  and  quenched 
the  flames  of  fire  ;  it  has  mastered  legions  of  passions, 
quelled  the  turbulence  of  lust,  overcome  the  world,  driven 
the  devil  to  flight,  and  thrown  open  an  entrance  to  the 
palaces  of  heaven !  Be  that  faith  yours,  my  brothers 
and  all  the  Zebas  and  Zalmunnas  of  fierce  temptation 
shall  fall  before  you  ;  your  life  shall  be  spent  to  purpose : 
and,  like  Gideon,  you  will  serve  your  country  and  your 
generation  by  the  will  of  God.  Good-night;  and  may 
God  give  every  one  of  you  His  blessing  !     Amen. 


''LORD,  I  WILL  FOLLOW  THEE:  BUT- 


'*Lord,  I  will  follotb  Thee:  but * — LUKE  ix. 


VI. 

«  LORD,  I  WILL  FOLLOW  THEE:  BUT " 

FINISH  the  verse,  you  say;  complete  the  sentence. 
No,  I  will  not ;  for  it  is  of  little  matter  what  the 
excuse  or  objection  happen  to  be  so  long  as  some  **  but " 
block  up  the  way,  and  render  this  excellent  resolution 
null.  Probably,  there  is  not  one  of  you  who  has  not,  at 
one  time  or  another,  under  the  influence  of  solemn  im- 
pressions, determined  to  be  a  Christian ;  you  have  felt 
the  claims  of  religion ;  you  have  vowed  you  would  be  a 
disciple  of  Jesus  ;  but,  just  as  you  were  about  to  pass  the 
Rubicon,  and  make  an  unconditional  surrender  of  your- 
self to  Him,  something  held  you  back,  and  hindered  you 
from  a  full  and  final  decision ;  you  said,  '*  Lord,  I   will 

follow  Thee:  but " 

I  have  reason  to  know  that,  at  these  monthly  services 
during  the  past  year,  many  serious  thoughts  have  been 
awakened,  and  many  holy  purposes  formed.  It  has  been 
my  great  privilege,  month  by  month,  to  address  a  large 
body  of  young  men  :  and  I  thank  God^for  the  evidence 
that  has  been  afforded  that  these  addresses  have  not  been 
altogether  in  vain  ;  the  Holy  Spirit  has  been  striving  with 
some  of  you,  and  awakening  within  you  the  earnest  desire 
to  join  yourselves  to  the  Lord ;  some  of  you  have  done 
so,  and  found  it  the  happiest  step  you  ever  took  in  life ; 
but  others  of  you  are  still  undecided,  delaying  from  month 


84  The  City   Youth, 

to  month  the  great  and  final  issue;  and,  thereiore,  I  v/ant 
this  evening  to  gather  up  some  of  the  difficulties  and 
objections  that  have  blocked  your  way,  and  hurling  them 
to  one  side,  to  persuade  you  to  settle  the  grand  question 
to-night ;  not  only  forming  the  half  resolution  of  our 
text,  but  going  further,  and  saymg,  "  Lord,  why  cannot  I 
follow  Thee  now  ?  " 

If  there  are  any  young  men  here  who  discard  the  Bible, 
reject  Christianity,  and  throw  contempt  upon  evangelical 
religion,  it  is  just  as  well  that  I  should  state  at  the  outset 
that  they  wdll  have  the  opportunity  of  quietly  retiring,  for 
I  have  little  to  say  to  them  to-night.  At  another  time  I 
shall  be  most  happy  to  have  an  earnest  talk  with  them,  and 
discuss  some  of  the  questions  that  trouble  them  ;  but  my 
aim  this  evening  is  to  address  a  few  helping  words  to  you 
who  fully  acknowledge  the  claims  of  the  Christian  religion, 
but  by  various  influences  are  hindered  and  deterred  from 
a  personal  surrender  to  Christ.  You  w^ould  follow  Jesus, 
only  there  is  a  "  but "  in  the  w^ay.  You  would  join  the 
Church,  take  your  place  at  the  Lord's  table,  openly  avow 
your  religion,  and  lead  a  truly  Christian  life,  but  there 
is  a  something  that  keeps  you  back.  Ah  !  what  multitudes, 
besides  the  man  who  uttered  these  words  of  the  text,  have 
had  a  mind  to  enter  on  a  life  of  godliness,  but  have 
stumbled  at  the  very  gate  !  Do  not  Felix,  and  Agrippa, 
and  Simon  Magus,  and  Demas,  and  others,  stand  up 
before  our  eyes  in  Scripture  as  solemn  warnings  against 
indecision ;  men  whose  names  appear  on  the  sacred  page 
in  connection  with  deep  but  fruitless  convictions;  re- 
minding us  of  ships  which,  when  night  is  spread  upon 
the  sea — and  from  the  shore  we  gaze  out  upon  the  breadth 
of  waters — emerge  for  a  moment  from  the  darkness  as 
they  cross  the  quivering  pathway  of  the  moonbeams,  and 
then  disappear  for   ever  in  the  silent  gloom      Step    for- 


''Lord,  I  will  Follow   Thee:  but '*     85 

ward  then,  and  state  your  difficulties,  that  we  may  see 
what  they  are  worth.  Out  of  a  host  I  shall  mention 
five. 

I.  First,  here  comes  a  man  who  says,  "  Lord,  I  will 
follow  Thee  ;  but  /  want  a  little  more  enjoyment  out  of 
life  before  I  become  a  Christitnir  His  notion  is  that 
religion  is  decidedly  a  melancholy  affair,  and  that  from 
the  moment  that  he  becomes  a  follower  of  Christ,  he 
must   bid  adieu  to  all  merriment  and  pleasure. 

The  idea  is  a  total  mistake,  but  it  is  exceedingly 
prevalent,  and  keeps  many  a  young  person  back  from  a 
decided  profession.  I  wish  I  could  succeed — I  often  try 
it — in  persuading  you,  not  only  that  you  do  not  sacrifice 
your  happiness  in  joining  the  Lord's  service,  but  that  only 
then  do  you  begin  to  know  what  real  happiness  is.  Only 
then  do  you  enter  the  realm  of  light  and  liberty.  Secretary 
Walsingham,  an  eminent  statesman  in  the  time  of  Queen 
Elizabeth,  in  the  latter  period  of  his  life,  retired  to  a  quiet 
spot  in  the  country.  Some  of  his  former  gay  associates 
came  to  him,  and  made  the  remark  that  he  was  now 
growing  melancholy.  *'  Not  melancholy,"  replied  he, 
*'  but  serious."  The  mistake  of  those  frivolous  courtiers 
is  precisely  the  mistake  made  by  thousands,  that  of  con- 
founding seriousness  with  melancholy.  The  deepest  joy 
is  serious,  and  being  serious  is  stable.  The  noisy  little 
brook  that  babbles  over  the  stones  is  dry  in  summer ;  but 
the  deep  river  flows  silently  along,  and  alike  in  drought 
and  frost  yields  a  plentiful  supply.  I  do  not  wish  merely 
to  repeat  the  commonplaces  of  the  pulpit,  and  reiterate 
w!iat  has  been  said  over  and  over  again  ;  but,  if  there  is 
one  of  you  who  is  holding  off  from  a  life  of  godliness, 
under  the  impression  that  it  is  a  demure  and  sad  one,  I 
want  to  set  you  right  to-night,  and  explode  the  silly 
fallacy.     You  never  were  more  completely  victimised  than 


86  The  City  Youth, 

when  the  devil  made  you  believe  that  life  minus  the  fc^r 
of  God  is  happy.  I  turn  the  tables  on  you,  and  assf^rt-^ 
backed  by  the  declarations  of  this  infallible  Book;  by 
the  testimony  of  thousands  who,  coming  to  Christ,  have 
been  enfranchised  with  a  joy  they  never  knew  before  ; 
and  by  the  wailing  confession  ,of  other  thousands  who, 
rejecting  religion,  have  found  existence  scarcely  endurable 
— that,  so  long  as  you  stay  out  of  the  kingdom  of  Christ, 
you  can  have  no  gladness  worthy  of  the  name.  The 
knowledge  of  the  love  of  God  in  Jesus,  the  consciousness 
of  peace  with  heaven,  the  sweet  hope  of  a  blessed  im- 
mortality, the  moral  strength  and  courage  which  Divine 
grace  imparts  ;  these  will  do  more  to  smooth  the  lines 
of  care  from  your  brow,  to  give  buoyancy  to  your  heart, 
and  sparkle  to  your  eye,  and  elasticity  to  your  step,  than 
all  the  gay  pleasures  of  the  world  put  together. 

Let  me  correct  that  expression,  '*  the  pleasures  of  the 
world."  Satan  has  stolen  it,  and  used  it  as  a  weapon 
against  religion.  (I  was  alluding  just  now,  of  course,  to 
sinful,  or  at  least  frivolous,  enjoyments.)  The  pleasures  of 
the  world,  I  hold,  are,  strictly  speaking,  for  Christians  aloiie. 
Suppose  that  a  man  of  wealth  buys  a  fine  property,  erects 
a  superb  mansion,  lays  out  beautiful  grounds,  stocks  an 
exquisite  garden,  and  so  forth ;  does  he  then  thrust  his 
own  sons  and  daughters  outside  his  demesne,  and  bid 
strangers  come  and  take  the  enjoyment  of  all  }  Certainly 
not.  He  may,  if  he  is  large-hearted  and  generous,  permit 
strangers  to  enter,  but  he  says,  ''My  children  have  the 
first  right  here."  So,  God  has  furnished  this  world  with 
all  that  is  pleasurable  and  beautiful  in  it,  first  for  His 
own  children  ;  and  if  they  do  not  avail  themselves  of 
their  right,  it  is  their  own  fault. 

Come  along  ;  enumerate  what  you  call  the  pleasures  of 
the  world  ;  make  out  the  inventory  ;  and  when  I  have  run 


^^ Lord,  I  will  Follow   Thee:  but "      87 

my  eye  down  the  list,  and  ticked  off  every  one  that  is  in 
any  way  morally  objectionable,  I  shall  present  you  with  a 
splendid  catalogue  to  which  Christians  have  the  first  and 
truest  claim.     Pleasures   indoor,  outdoor;  pleasures  rural 
and  urban  ;  pleasures  of  nature  and  art.    I  claim  first  of  all 
for  Christian  young  men  the  exhilarating  pleasures  of  the 
tennis  racket,  and  the  croquet  mallet,  and  the  cricketer's 
bat,  and  the  golfer's  club,  and  the  angler's  rod,  and  the 
sportsman's  gun,   and   the  cyclist's  steed.     Where    God- 
fearing youth  are  assembled,  let  wit  and  hilarity  abound, 
and   the    shout   of  innocent  laughter    rend   the   air;    let 
heathful    sports   expand   the    chest   and    strengthen    the 
muscle ;  let   the   graceful    oar   dip   the    stream,    and    the 
evening  tide  be  resonant  of  boatman's  song,  as  the  bright 
prow  splits  the  crystal  billow.     Away  with  the  notion  that 
the  pleasures  of  the  world  are  denied  to  a  believer  !     There 
is   no   single    pleasure  which    a  manly  nature  can  relish 
which  is  not  permissible  to  a  Christian.     I  repudiate  with 
scorn  the  idea  that  when  a  man  begins  to  follow  Christ, 
he  is  p'uched,  dwarfed,  shut  up.     Rather  is  he  enlarged, 
cnnol)led,  and  bet  free.     I  think,  then,  that  I  have  disposed 
of  the  first  obj-^ction  to  your  immediate  entering  on  the 
Chri.^tian  life. 

II.  The  next  objector  comes  forward  and  says,  "Lord, 
I  would  follow  Thee;  but  the  nalwe  of  my  business  pre- 
vc.'i/s  lut-y  I  need  not  say  that  I  am  not  picturing  a 
fanciful  case ;  again  and  again  have  persons  come  to 
me,  speaking  in  this  way,  "  Sir,  I  feel  the  force  of  what 
you  say,  and  the  duty  of  being  a  decided  disciple  of  Christ ; 
but,  in  point  of  fact,  it  is  a  sheer  impossibility.  One 
must  make  his  living ;  and  there  are  so  many  things  in 
the  business  I  am  in  that  are  not  altogether  square  and 
correct,  that  I  cannot  play  the  Christian  without  acting 
the  hypocrite.     I    envy  the  man   who   can  make  money, 


88  The  City  YontL 

and  keep  a  clear  conscience  too  ;  but,  unhappily,  placed 
as  I  am,  that  is  impossible  with  me.  I  would  follow 
Christ,  but  my  calling  prevents  me." 

I  am  sorry  to  say  that,  were  consciences  generally  as 
tender  as  that  young  man's,  most  congregations  in  London 
would  lose  a  good  many  of  their  members.  It  is  a  sad 
thing  that  the  Poet  Laureate  of  England  should  have 
occasion  to   say — 

*•  Who  but  a  fool  would  have  faith 
In  a  tradesman's  ware  or  his  word?" 

Almost  every  day  things  are  coming  to  light,  which  show 
that  with  many  manufacturers,  mechanics,  and  traders, 
there  is  one  code  of  morality  for  home,  and  another  for 
the  factory,  office,  or  shop.  Almost  every  article  that  can 
be  purchased  for  money  engages  the  ingenuity  of  a  class 
of  men  who  determine  to  make  it  yield  its  percentage  of 
imposture.  What  with  the  use  of  bad  material  in  the 
workshop,  concealment  of  flaws  in  the  execution,  forging 
of  trade  marks,  adulteration,  trickery  in  the  sample-room, 
knavery  in  the  office,  cheating  on  the  part  of  small  dealers, 
and  downright  lying  on  the  part  of  wholesale  merchants 
and  agents,  it  is  difficult  to  know  what  is  genuine  ;  and 
swindling  has  been  elevated  almost  to  the  dignity  of  a 
science.  Somehow,  the  pottles  do  not  always  show  the 
same  strawberries  all  the  way  down ;  and  it  is  not  only 
fruiterers  that  place  their  best  goods  on  the  surface.  To 
quote  Lord  Tennyson  again — 

"  Chalk,  and  alum,  and  plaster  are  sold  to  the  poor  for  bread, 
And  the  spirit  of  murder  works  in  the  very  means  of  life.'' 

When  you  were  little  boys,  you  wrote  on  your  copybooks, 
in  large  round  text,  "Honesty  is  the  best  policy;"  but, 
now  that  you  are  men,  you  are  asked  to  change  the  motto 
for  another,   "  It's  all  grist  that  comes  to  our  mill."     Well, 


^' Lord,  I  will  Follow    Thee:  but '*      89 

this  being  so,  you  do  not  find  it  easy,  my  brother,  to  be  a 
Christian.     I  do  not  wonder.     God  "  desireth  truth  in  ihe 
inward  parts."     In  tones  of  thunder  He  exclaims,  **  Shall 
I  count  them  pure  with  the  wicked  balances,  an.l  with  the 
bag  of  deceitful  weights  }  "     In  the  six  thousand  years 
that  have  passed  since  Adam's  day,  it  has  never  once  been 
to  a  man's  interest  to  do  wrong.     The  smallest  sin  brings 
its  retribution.      Be  straightforward  and  fear  not,  though 
the  heavens  should  fall.     When  Adam  Clarke  was  a  young 
man,  his  employer  once  bid  him  stretch  short  measure  to 
make  it  enough  ;  but  his  reply  was,   **  Sir,  I  can't  do  it ; 
my  conscience  won't  allow  me."      He  lost  his  situation, 
but  God  found  him  another.      Now,  I  say  to  you,  young 
men,  that,  should  there  be  any  of  you  who  are  hindered 
from    religious    decision,    and  from    open    profession    of 
Christ,   by  things  in  your  business  which  conscience  dis- 
approves, your   duty  is    clear,   though  it   is   very  trying  ; 
make    a  change    as  fast  as    possible.      It    never   pays  in 
the  long  run  to    have  God  against  you.     It  all   depends 
on  how  your  m^oney  comes  to  you,  v/hether  it  is  better  to 
have  it  or  to  want  it.     Be  sure  of  this,  that  character  and 
a  good  conscience  are    the    best    capital.      If  you    have 
a   living   to   earn,    remember   that   you    have   a   soul    to 
save. 

III.  Number  three  starts  up,  and,  in  loud  and  self-assert- 
ing tones,  proclaims  that  he  has  a  mind  to  be  religious, 
but  docs  not  find  that  Christians  are  any  better  than  other 
piople.  Til  is  is  a  polite  way  of  hinting  that  they  are 
possibly  a  little  worse.  I  met  with  a  case  in  point  only 
the  other  day.  I  was  visiting  in  the  same  house  with  a 
man  who  had  been  under  deep  religious  impressions,  and 
v.-as  "  almost  persuaded,"  but  he  had  been  repelled  by  the 
conduct  of  certain  persons  who  bore  the  Christian  name. 
"They  were  the  most  unprincipled  fellows  I  ever  knew, 


QO  The  City   Yoitth, 

and  their  religion  disgraced  everything  they  touched." 
Stop,  my  friend;  say,  "their  hypocrisy  disgraced  every- 
thing they  touched:'  To  speak  the  truth,  it  was  not  their 
religion,  but  their  want  of  religion,  that  made  them  the 
rogues  and  scamps  they  were.  There  is  no  man  so  unlike 
Christ,  and  so  far  from  Him,  as  the  man  of  counterfeit 
piety.  But  you  must  not  condemn  religion  because  of  its 
counterfeit.  You  would  not  throw  away  a  good  Bank  of 
England  note  because  you  once  saw  a  forged  one.  If 
religion  were  not  a  good  thing,  a  valuable  thing,  men 
would  not  try  to  counterfeit  it.  The  counterfeit  article 
only  proves  the  worth  of  the  genuine.  But  you  always 
talk  more  about  the  former  than  about  the  latter.  If  there 
is  a  bad  shilling  in  the  plate,  all  the  worthy  deacons  must 
have  a  good  look  at  it,  and  make  their  remarks  upon  it ; 
but  the  good  shillings  are  passed  over  without  notice. 
And  this  because  the  bad  ones  are  so  rare  as  compared 
to  the  genuine.  If  a  religious  man  is  mean,  overbearing, 
uncharitable,  unmoral,  everybody  talks  about  him  ,  but 
if  his  conduct  and  life  are  in  strict  harmony  with  his 
profession,  no  one  thinks  of  making  a  remark.  For  this 
reason,  the  bad  specimens  appear  to  be  more  numerous 
than  they  really  are;  and  the  enemies  of  Christ  make  the 
most  of  this  fallacy.  In  this  matter,  the  experience  of 
each  of  you  is  just  as  valuable,  up  to  its  measure,  as 
mine;  but  as  an  act  of  simple  honesty,  I  am  bound  to 
say,  coming  in  contact  as  I  do  with  all  sotts  and  varieties 
of  men,  that,  though  religious  sneaks  are  to  be  met  with, 
they  are  a  very  small  minority;  and  that  by  far  the 
finest  characters  I  know — the  most  honourable,  con- 
scientious, liberal,  large-hearted,  benevolent  men  I  ever 
meet  with — are  decided  followers  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
All  other  things  being  equal,  a  man  will  be  more  of  a 
gentleman  by  the  fact  of  his  being  a  Christian  :  he  will  be 


^^ Lord,  I  will  Follow   Thee:  but "     91 

a  kinder  master,  a  more  trusty  servant,  a  safer  companion, 
a  better  friend.  If  you  have  to  take  a  two  hundred  miles' 
journey  by  rail,  I  do  not  think  you  will  select  the  vacant 
seat  in  a  carriage  filled  with  betting  men  or  infidels  ;  they 
are  not  generally  the  most  charming  company;  any  one 
out  of  that  lot  is  more  objectionable  every  way  than  all 
the  imperfect  Christians  you  may  meet  with  from  Land's 
End  to  John  o'  Groat's.  Don't  let  the  faultiness  of  some 
professors,  then,  hinder  you  from  deciding  to  follow 
Christ. 

IV.  "I  would  be  a  Christian,"  says  another,  "but  j'^« 
knffw  all  these  things  are  matters  of  mere  speculation. 
We  cannot  arrive  at  ceiiaiitty  on  the  subject  of  religion^ 
The  objection  is  plausible,  but  it  is  shallow  and  insuffi- 
cient. In  reply,  I  have  to  say,  first,  that  the  evidence  in 
favour  of  Christianity  is  far  stronger  than  that  demanded 
in  respect  to  other  matters  w  hich  you  daily  accept,  and  in 
which  great  interests  are  involved  ;  and  in  the  second 
place,  that  that  evidence  furnishes  the  fullest  demonstra- 
tion of  which  the  nature  of  the  subject  admits.  You 
cannot  have  mathematical  proof  for  moral  subjects.  You 
cannot  demonstrate  the  truth  of  the  Gospel  by  chemical 
experiments  in  a  laboratory,  or  by  a  black-board  and  a 
piece  of  chalk.  There  are  presumptuous  dolts  who 
deniand  a  kind  of  proof  which  in  the  nature  of  the  Cdse  is 
impossible.  It  is  only  the  ignorant  and  thoughtless  who 
imagine  that  moral  evidence  is  necessarily  inferior  to  what 
is  called  mathematical  proof.  This  sacred  book  corncs  to 
you  as  a  revelation  from  God,  and  its  divine  origin  is 
sustained  by  the  most  conclusive,  though  moral,  evidence. 
Open  your  minds  to  that  evidence,  and  the  light  will 
stream  into  them.  The  difficulties  into  which  you  are 
plunged  by  a  rejection  of  the  Gospel  are  vastly  greater 
than  any   which   attend    its   acceptance :    and    the    most 


92  The  City   Youth, 

credulous  of  men  are  not  those  who  bow  their  assent  to 
it,  but  those  who  believe  it  to  be,  from  first  to  last,  a 
stupendous  lie.  No,  sirs  ;  when  you  think  of  the  varied, 
mirltiplied,  concurrent,  cumulative  evidences  in  favour  of 
the  religion  of  Jesus  ;  evidence  from  fulfilled  prophecy, 
and  established  miracle;  evidence  from  history,  sacred 
and  profane ;  evidence  from  monument  and  sculpture ; 
from  ancient  manuscript  and  tradition  ;  from  more  than 
sixty  sacred  books,  written  by  some  forty  inspired  authors  ; 
from  millions  of  happy  lives  made  bright  and  beautiful  by 
the  Gospel,  and  millions  of  peaceful  deaths,  many  of  them 
triumphant  in  the  ecstasy  which  that  Gospel  inspired  ; 
when  you  see  all  these  lines  of  evidence  converging  to  one 
focal  point,  how  can  you  fail  to  bow  in  adoring  reverence 
before  the  truth  thus  confirmed  and  established,  and  yield 
yourselves  up  to  its  transforming  power  ? 

V.  I  am  only  to  name  another  objection,  and  it  is 
perhaps  the  most  insidious  and  fatal  of  all.  "  Lord,  I 
will  follow  Thee;  but — there  is  no  hurry;  there  is  time 
enough''  Remember,  a  resolution  like  that,  though  it 
quiets  conscience,  is  worth  nothing.  The  purpose  to 
delay  turns  the  very  resolve  into  a  sin.  To  carry  out  even 
your  best  intentions,  you  need  the  grace  and  help  of  God  ; 
but  that  help  will  not  be  given  to  put  into  execution  a 
resolution  that  is  itself  sinful.     If  you  say,  **I.ord,  I  will 

follow  Thee  :  but "  you  only  contradict  yourself,  for  the 

plain  English  of  it  is,  **  Lord,  I  will  not  follow  Thee." 
Unless  you  are  brought  up  to  the  point  of  immediate 
decision;  unless  in  the  very  moment  of  saying,  '*  I  will 
follow  Thee,"  you  rise  up,  and  make  the  start  on  the 
Christian  life,  the  vow  is  utterly  valueless. 

Oh  !  my  brothers,  I  know  not  what  fresh  argument  to 
plead,  what  new  illustration  to  employ.  There  are  hearts 
here  that  are  hardening  under  these  repeated  appeals  ;  and 


*^ Lord,  I  ivill  Follow   Thee:  but "     93 

if  they  do  not  quickly  yield,  all  spiritual  feeling,  all  capacity 
for  holy  resolve,  shall  be  gone  for  ever. 

Some  time  since,  in  a  little  watering-place  in  the  west 
of  Scotland,  I  was  pointed  to  a  spot  where,  a  few  years 
ago,  a  sad  and  strange  incident  had  occurred.  Several 
workmen  were  engaged  in  calking  the  bottom  of  a  vessel 
that  had  been  drawn  up  on  the  sandy  beach.  On  a  sudden 
the  cry  was  raised  that  the  ship  was  listing  over,  and  all  the 
men  started  to  their  feet,  and  hastened  to  escape — all  but 
one  poor  fellow,  who  was  late  in  stirring,  and  the  huge 
hulk  fell  upon  him,  imprisoning  his  lower  extremities  and 
loins,  but  leaving  head  and  chest  uninjured.  At  first  it  was  -/ 
thought  there  was  little  danger,  for  the  ship  rested  gently 
on  him,  and  the  sand  was  soft.  So  they  tried  to  shore  up 
the  vessel,  and  willing  hands  brought  ropes,  and  blocks, 
and  wedges,  and  earnest  strength.  But  they  soon  dis- 
covered that  the  thing  was  impossible,  from  the  nature  of 
the  bottom.  The  man  was  jammed  there,  and  they  could 
not  extricate  him.  There  was  just  one  awful  hour 
before  the  advancing  tide  would  cover  him.  Oh  !  with 
what  agonising  entreaty  did  he  appeal  to  them  to  rescue 
him.  It  was  too  late.  He  saw  the  tide  of  death  approach- 
ing, but  he  had  not  the  power  to  rise  and  escape  ;  and 
none  could  deliver  him.  Another  hour ;  and  as  the 
vessel  calmly  rose  and  glided  on  the  waters,  the  pale 
corpse  floating  into  shore  seemed  to  preach  the  solemn 
lesson,  that  even  a  few  moments'  delay  may  be  fatal. 

And  so  has  it  happened  with  many  a  soul,  that,  trifling 
with  his  season  of  grace,  has  resolved  to  get  up  and  follow 
Christ  at  some  future  day ;  but  that  day  came,  and  he 
could  not  stir ;  all  capacity  for  resolve  had  passed  away  ; 
his  heart  was  dead  and  motionless  as  a  stone.  If  you 
have  but  half  a  desire  then  to  follow  Christ,  let  no  "■  buts  " 
block  the  way,  those  flimsy  objections  which  drown  so 


94  The  City  Youth. 

many  in  perdition,  and  mal;e  you  the  hiti  of  Satan's 
ridicule  :  but  instantly  arise,  and  say  with  Peter  (though 
in  a  Divine  strength  that  will  not  fail  you),  "  Lord,  why 
cannot  I  follow  Thee  now  ?  I  will  lay  down  my  life  for 
Thy  sake."     Amen. 


FEARING  THE  LORD  JFROM  ONE'S  YOUTH. 


**  ///iy  servant  fear  the  Lord  from  my  youth:'— -l  Kings  xviil  12, 


VII. 

FEARING  THE  LORD  FROM  ONE'S  YOUTH. 

IN  these  monthly  addresses  I  have  generally  taken  some 
Scriptural  illustration  as  the  backbone  of  my  subject, 
At  one  time  I  have  selected  a  good  man  as  an  example, 
and  at  another  time  a  bad  man  as  a  warning ;  each  is 
useful  in  its  way.  There  are  times  when  you  want  a  word 
to  encourage  and  stimulate ;  and  there  are  times  when 
you  need  a  word  to  caution  and  deter.  The  Bible  is  a 
wonderful  book  in  this  respect.  All  phases  of  human 
character  are  here  pourtrayed.  Scarcely  one  of  you  who 
may  not  here  find  his  prototype ;  and  even  among  the 
Scriptural  names  that  are  less  known  and  talked  about,  there 
are  some  that  will  quite  repay  your  attention. 

I  fancy  most  of  you  know  very  little  about  the  man  who 
uttered  these  words  of  our  text — perhaps  do  not  even  know 
his  name.  He  is  worth  your  study,  notwithstanding.  The 
mere  fact  of  his  making  this  noble  and  manly  declaration 
awakens  my  interest  in  him.  I  feel  that  is  a  man  I  should 
like  to  know  something  about. 

Suppose,  then,  we  take  him  for  our  subject  this  evening. 
There  are  not  less  than  twelve  Obadiahs  mentioned  in  the 
Old  Testament ;  but  the  two  most  prominent  are — (i)  The 
individual  before  us  in  this  chapter,  who  was  the  king's 
chamberlain  in  the  reign  of  Ahab ;  and  (2)  The  author 
of  one  of  the  minor  prophecies,  which  bears  his  name. 

7 


98  The    City    Youth. 

According  to  Jewish  tradition,  these  are  the  same  person  ; 
Obadiah  the  chamberlain  was  also  Obadiah  the  prophet. 
But  this  appears  to  me  to  involve  chronological  discre- 
pancies, and  so  I  discard  the  notion.  The  said  prophecy 
is  believed  to  have  been  written  about  six  hundred  years 
before  Christ ;  but  Ahab's  reign  occurred  fully  three  cen- 
turies earlier;  so  we  may  dismiss  the  idea  that  the  person 
before  us  was  the  inspired  prophet  who  wrote  so  solemnly 
of  the  judgments  that  were  to  fall  upon  Edom. 

I  am  speaking  to  you  to-night  of  a  layman,  not  of  an 
ecclesiastic.  We  are  taken  into  the  court  of  one  of  the 
vilest  monarchs  that  ever  sat  on  the  throne  of  Israel. 
Ahab's  career  shows  us  the  depth  of  wickedness  into  which 
a  weak  man  may  fall  (even  though  not  altogether  devoid  of 
a  conscience  and  of  some  good  impluses)  when  he  yields 
himself  to  the  guidance  of  another,  and  especially  a  woman 
who  is  resolute  and  unscrupulous.  We  read  of  him  in  the 
twenty-first  chapter,  that  there  was  none  like  him,  who 
sold  himself  to  work  wickedness  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord, 
"whom  Jezebel  his  wife  stirred  up."  Unhappy  man! 
Solomon  tells  us,  that  "whoso  findeth  a  wife,  findeth  a 
good  thing ; "  but  that  all  depends  on  the  character  of 
the  woman  he  has  found.  Many  a  man  has  had  his  heart 
broken  by  a  rib  taken  from  his  own  side.  Ahab  was  fool 
enough  to  give  his  hand  to  the  vilest  female  character 
mentioned  in  sacred  history.  She  was  the  Lady  Macbeth 
of  that  time  ;  and  so  great  an  influence  did  she  acquire 
over  her  husband,  that  the  country  was  virtually  under  her 
rule.  This  Jezebel  was  the  daughter  of  Ethbaal,  King  of 
Tyre,  who  had  been  a  high-priest  of  goddess  Astarte 
(supposed  by  some  to  be  the  same  as  Venus),  and,  con- 
sequently, had  been  trained  up  in  one  of  the  most  debasing 
forms  of  idolatry  that  ever  cursed  the  earth.  No  doubt 
she  was  a  splendid,  showy  woman ;  and  Ahab,  caught  by 


Fearing  the  Lord  from   One' s   Youth,      99 

the  glitter,  fell  into  a  fatal  trap.  I  am  afraid  there  is  not 
much  use  in  giving  advice  on  this  subject,  and  yet — with 
the  wretched  career  of  this  ill-matched  couple  before  us — 
I  am  bound  to  cry,  *'  Beware  ! "  to  any  of  you  who  are 
attracted  rather  by  style  and  beauty  than  by  moral  worth. 
As  might  be  supposed,  this  unscrupulous  woman  was  a 
fierce  hater  of  the  true  religion,  and  violently  persecuted 
the  prophets  of  Jehovah.  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable 
that,  whilst  such  wickedness  and  idolatry  reigned  at  Court, 
Obadiah,  a  pious  man,  and  a  devout  worshipper  of  God, 
should  have  possessed  such  influence  with  the  king,  as 
to  be  able  to  retain  his  position  and  high  office  as  Lord 
Chamberlain  or  mayor  of  the  palace.  I  have  no  doubt  it 
was  in  spite  of  his  religion,  and  because,  like  Daniel  at 
the  royal  court  of  Babylon,  he  w^as  found  to  be  thoroughly 
trustworthy  and  conscientious.  It  has  often  been  a  grand 
testimony  to  Christianity,  my' dear  young  men,  that' even 
those  who  have  secretly  detested  and  openly  opposed  it, 
have  been  glad  to  have  for  their  confidential  servant,  or 
steward,  or  clerk,  a  sincere  disciple  of  Jesus.  Obadiah 
used  his  influential  position  for  good.  Instead  of  sacrific- 
ing his  convictions  and  shelving  his  principles,  as  many 
a  man  would  have  done,  he  remained  true ;  and  gladly 
availed  himself  of  the  opportunity  which  that  position 
afl"orded  him,  of  throwing  the  shield  of  protection  over  the 
Lord's  persecuted  prophets.  At  the  risk  of  his  own  life, 
he  concealed  a  hundred  of  them  in  caves,  and  fed  them 
there  with  bread  and  water.  And  we  are  expressly  told 
that  this  action  of  his  was  the  outcome  of  his  fervent 
piety ;  it  was  because  *'  he  feared  the  Lord  greatly." 

How  great  was  the  influence  he  possessed  in  high 
places  was  shown  during  the  terrible  famine  which 
devastated  Samaria.  In  the  third  year  of  that  famine, 
when  nearly  all  the  brooks  and  fountains  were  dried  up 


lOO  The  City  Youth, 

through  the  long  want  of  rain,  and  the  horses  and  cattle 
were  perishing,  the  king  arranged  with  Obadiah  that  they 
should  divide  the  land  between  them,  and  go  in  search  of 
any  remnants  of  herbage  that  might  still  be  found  near 
the  beds  of  streams  and  springs,  so  as,  if  possible,  to 
preserve  the  beasts  alive.  Accordingly  we  read,  "Ahab 
went  one  way  by  himself,  and  Obadiah  went  another  way 
by  himself."  Whilst  on  this  solitary  journey,  whom 
should  he  happen  to  meet  but  the  great  and  awe-inspiring 
prophet  Elijah,  who  had  disappeared  from  view  since  the 
commencement  of  the  famine,  but  now  instructed  Obadiah 
to  go  direct  to  Ahab,  and  tell  him,  "Behold,  Elijah  is 
here !  "  Obadiah  did  not  like  this  errand  at  all.  He 
thought  it  would  seem  as  though  there  were  some 
collusion  between  himself  and  the  mighty  seer  who  was 
so  feared  and  detested  at  court,  and  that  his  own  life 
would  fall  a  sacrifice.  At  the  same  time. he  wished  the 
prophet  to  understand  that  he  was  unchanged  in  his 
devotion  to  Jehovah,  and  would  certainly  do  whatsoever 
was  required  of  him  ;  and,  to  show  the  genuineness  of  his 
sincerity,  he  added  these  words  of  our  text,  "  I  thy  servant 
fear  the  Lord  from  my  youth." 

There  are  two  valuable  lessons  we  are  to  carry  away 
from  these  words  of  Obadiah. 

And  the  first  is,  the  importance  of  earty  decision  for  God, 
Our  subject  was  not  a  particularly  young  man  at  this  time : 
that  is  plain  from  his  language ;  but  his  religious  earnest- 
ness had  dated  from  early  life.  There  are  scores  of  fine 
young  fellows  who  fully  intend  to  be  Christians  some  day; 
but  they  do  not  feel  the  pressing  urgency  of  the  claims 
of  religion;  and  so  they  don't  come  up  to  the  point  of 
decision.  They  forget  that  even  though  their  life  should 
eventually  become  thoroughly  changed,  it  will  be  im- 
mensely to  their  loss  by-and-by  that  the  change  did  not 


Feariiis^  the  Loi'd  from   One  s   Youth.      lOl 

take  place  in  youth.  It  is  the  bitter  regret  of  many  an  old 
Christian,  and  will  be  so  to  his  dying  day,  that  he  only 
began  truly  to  fear  the  Lord  when  the  best  part  of  his  life 
was  gone.  Old  Thomas  Fuller,  in  his  racy  way,  points 
to  three  Old  Testament  characters,  who  respectively  gave 
their  youth,  their  middle  life,  and  their  old  age  to  God, 
and,  unhappily,  gave  Him  no  other  part.  Young  King 
Jehoash  was  a  pious  man  only  for  the  earlier  years  of  his 
life,  wherein  his  uncle,  Jehoiada,  the  priest,  instructed 
him.  Jehu,  bad  in  the  beginning,  and  worse  in  the 
end  of  his  days,  was  in  middle  life  an  earnest  worshipper 
of  Jehovah,  and  a  zealous  reformer.  And  IManasseh  was 
in  youth  and  in  middle  life  a  gross  idolater,  filling  Jeru- 
salem with  his  wickedness ;  but  in  the  end  of  his  days 
he  humbled  himself,  and  became  a  true  penitent.  These 
three  together  might  yield  material  for  one  satisfactory 
life.  Take  the  morning,  and  rise  then  with  Jehoash  ; 
the  noon,  and  shine  with  Jehu  ;  the  evening,  and  set  with 
IManasseh.  Well,  this  appears  to  have  been  Obadiah's 
method,  for,  just  before  he  fades  from  our  view,  we  find 
him  testifying  that  he  had  *'  feared  the  Lord  from  his 
youth."  It  was  a  favourite  idea,  a  hobby  in  short,  of 
that  singular  and  austere  sage  Thomas  Carlyle,  that  a 
select  few  of  cur  race  are  to  be  set  up  for  the  admiration 
and  iniitation  of  the  rest :  and  though,  no  doubt,  the 
Chelsea  philosopher  pushed  it  too  far  (as  he  was  in  the 
habit  of  doing  with  most  ideas  that  possessed  him),  the 
notion  is  a  sound  and  scriptural  one.  The  Bible  teaches 
as  much  by  example  as  by  precept,  and  it  seems  to  me 
that  the  grand  lesson  of  Obadiah's  life — and  it  is  but  a 
very  brief  biography  we  have — is  the  unspeakable  value 
to  a  man,  all  through  his  career,  of  starting  with  fixed 
religious  principles,  and  sticking  to  them  at  all  hazards. 
With  such  a  dissolute  queen  as  Jezebel  upon  the  throne, 


I02  The  City  Youth. 

and  such  an  unprincipled  weakling  as  Ahab  for  king,  the 
influences  around  the  youth  must  have  been  as  bad  as 
bad  could  be  ;  yet  he  set  the  Lord  ever  before  him,  and 
sternly  resisted  the  temptations  that  assailed  him. 

His  piety  took  the  complexion  of  an  awe-inspiring  sense 
of  a  personal  God.  It  is  important,  my  brothers,  to  notice 
this.  We  all  know  that  religion  presents  itself  in  different 
individuals  under  somewhat  different  aspects,  though  in 
each  case  equally  genuine.  But,  I  do  think,  there  is  no 
form  in  which  it  is  more  valuable  to  a  young  man  than 
that  of  a  profound  and  all-pervading  sense  of  the  personal 
presence  of  God,  and  of  our  accountability  to  Him.  The 
most  bold  and  brazen-faced  infidel  I  ever  encountered 
said  to  me,  when  our  conversation  ended,  ''Though  I 
deny  all  those  things  you  believe,  I  frankly  tell  you  I  can 
never  get  over  a  feeling  deep  withm  my  heart  that  there 
is  some  one  somewhere  to  whom  I  am  accountable." 
When  this  feeling  is  under  the  direction  of  true  religion, 
it  is  the  most  wholesome  force  by  which  a  man's  life  can 
be  guided.  It  was  this  thought  that  proved  so  powerful  a 
factor  in  Joseph's  life,  and  kept  him  back  from  sins  into 
which  otherwise  he  would  have  fallen.  I  know  (for  you 
have  told  me)  that  some  of  you  are  at  times  terribly  tempted. 
Though  friends  think  you  guileless  and  innocent,  there  is 
not  a  ditch  of  wickedness  so  foul,  that  you  have  not  almost 
fallen  into  it.  Positively,  you  have  been  on  the  verge  of 
moral  suicide.  And,  what  was  it  that,  more  than  anything 
else,  held  you  back  from  the  pit  of  pollution  }  It  was  the 
felt  presence  of  a  personal  God.  When  men  abandon  this 
ground,  and,  carried  away  by  the  teachings  of  modern 
materialism,  think  of  the  Deity  only  as  the  great  presiding 
force  in  nature,  there  is  no  longer  any  sound  basis  of 
morality  or  virtue. 

When  that  singular  man,  Joseph  Barker,  whose  life  has 


Fearing  the  Lord  from  One^s  Youth,      103 

recently  been  published,  was  lecturing  against  Christianity 
he  found  this  to  be  true.  He  says,  "  Often  when  1  came 
to  be  acquainted  with  the  men  who  had  invited  me  to 
lecture,  I  was  ashamed  to  be  seen  standing  with  them  in 
the  streets,  and  I  shrunk  from  the  touch  of  their  hand  as 
from  pollution."  "  When  I  saw  their  character,"  he  goes 
on  to  say,  **  it  went  far  towards  convincing  me  that, 
whether  religion  was  founded  in  truth  or  not,  it  was 
necessary  to  the  virtue  and  happiness  of  mankind.  It 
prepared  me  still  further  to  return  to  Christ,  and  brought 
me  a  step  or  two  nearer  to  His  side." 

I  quite  believe,  if  you  will  allow  me  to  say  so,  that  some 
of  you,  who  would  hardly  venture  to  call  yourselves  real 
Christians,  are  most  favourably  inclined  towards  religion, 
only  you  will  not  come  up  to  the  point  of  a  full  and  absolute 
decision.  But  this  is  just  where  your  danger  lies  :  for  these 
half-religious  feelings  are  apt  to  satisfy  you,  whilst,  until 
you  have  actually  given  your  hand  to  Christ,  you  are  as 
absolutely  unsaved  as  if  you  were  a  railing  infidel.  Oh  ! 
my  brothers,  get  out  of  your  mind  the  idea  that  there  is 
anything  weak  or  eileminate  in  being  on  the  Lord's  side. 
In  your  deepest  soul  you  do  not  believe  that  lie  of  the 
scoffer.  Thank  God,  there  is  a  correspondence  between 
your  inmost  conscience  and  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  that 
you  cannot  get  over,  a  concurrence  between  the  breast  and 
the  Book,  which  tells  that  He  who  inspired  the  one  inspired 
the  otl  3r.  Long  ages  ago  Tertullian  wrote,  "  Testimonium 
animce  naturaliter  ChristianDs"  —  "The  testimony  of  the 
soul  is  naturally  Christian  ; "  in  other  words,  the  Gospel, 
and  it  alone,  meets  and  answers  the  long  pent-up,  inarti- 
culate sigh  of  our  burdened  humanity.  Dr.  Livingstone, 
speaking  of  the  races  he  found  in  the  heart  of  Africa,  said, 
"Why  fine-looking  men  like  these  should  be  so  Jow  in  the 
moral  scale,  can  only  be  attributed  to  the  non-introduction 


I04  The  City  Youth, 

of  that  religion  which  makes  those  distinctions  among 
men,  which  phrenology  and  other  ologies  cannot  explain. 
The  religion  of  Christ  is  unquestionably  the  best  for  man. 
I  refer  to  the  comprehensive  faith  which  has  spread  more 
widely  over  the  world  than  most  people  imagine  ;  and 
Ml.o.e  votaries,  of  whatever  name,  are  better  men  than 
any  outside  the  pale."  I  want  to-night,  with  the  help  of 
God,  to  prevail  on  some  of  you  to  come  over  at  once  from 
the  region  of  hesitancy  to  that  of  decision  ;  and  I  shall 
regard  my  sermon  as  an  utter  failure,  should  no  one  here 
be  thus  persuaded.  You  are  in  the  foaming  rapids  of 
temptation,  hurrying  you  down  (though  you  know  it  not) 
to  certain  ruin,  and  you  are  working  away  with  a  broken 
oar ;  if  God  Almighty  do  not  help  you,  you  will  go  under, 
and  be  lost.  To-night  there  is  thrown  over  to  you  a  stout 
cable  that  never  yet  has  snapped  :  "  Believe  on  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  thou  shalt  be  saved." 

The  second  lesson  we  carry  away  with  us  from  the 
text  is,  the  importance  of  courage  in  openly  avozving  our 
religious  decision.  The  first  thing  is  to  have  sound  prin- 
ciples ;  and  the  second  thing  is  not  to  be  ashamed  of 
them.  We  all  know  young  men  who  are  more  than  half 
disposed  to  come  over  to  the  side  of  Christ,  but  they  can't 
make  up  their  minds  to  encounter  the  opposition,  and 
chafQng,  and  ridicule  which  they  know  they  should  have 
to  meet  with.  Well,  I  do  not  altogether  wonder.  Even 
the  Apostle  Peter  was  frightened  out  of  his  profession, 
and  winced  before  a  servant  girl !  It  is  about  the  greatest 
trial  to  which  a  man's  faith  can  be  subjected,  to  have  to 
stand  the  sneers  and  jeers  and  banter  of  ungodly  com- 
panions. But  if  we  are  satisfied  that  the  teachings  of  tlie 
Christian  religion  are  true,  it  is  a  sheepish  and  unmanly 
thing  to  reject  them  because  we  are  afraid  of  being  teased 
or  laughed  at.     Obadiah's  piety  must  oftep  have  put  his 


Fearing  the  Lord  from  One's   Youth,     105 

life  in  danger;  but,  for  all  that,  he  did  not  disavow  his 
faith  in  Israel's  God.  At  the  very  time  when  the  high- 
handed queen  was  trying  to  root  up  the  worship  of  Jehovah 
out  of  the  land,  and  to  put  to  death  all  who  abetted  it,  we 
are  told  that  "  he  feared  the  Lord  greatly/'  Ay,  the  fear 
of  God  took  away  every  other  fear.  The  best  way  to 
get  over  the  dread  of  opposition  or  ridicule,  is  to  have 
the  constant  feeling  that  God  Himself  is  at  your  side, 
looking  upon  you,  pleased  when  you  confess  Him,  grieved 
when  you  disown  Him. 

Besides,  all  the  chaffing  and  opposition  will  soon  spend 
itself  if  you  are  firm.  It  is  when  you  quake,  or  cower,  or 
wince  a  little,  or  lose  your  temper,  or  apologise,  or  try  to 
compromise,  that  the  enemy  becomes  most  insolent.  Don't 
yield  an  inch ;  and  he  will  soon  hold  his  tongue.  The 
man  who  scoffs  at  another's  religion  is  generally  a  most 
contemptible  coward.  In  his  soul  he  knows  he  is  in  the 
wrong  box,  and  that  makes  him  weak.  It  was  a  remark- 
able saying  of  the  Duke  of  Wellington,  that  *Mn  war  the 
moral  is  to  the  physical  as  ten  to  one."  That  is  to  say, 
that,  if  the  soldiers  know  and  feel  in  their  conscience  that 
right  is  on  their  side,  they  are  ten  times  as  brave  as  when 
they  are  not  very  sure  about  it.  I  don't  want  to  touch  on 
politics,  but  I  do  believe  that  this  has  something  to'  do 
with  some  of  those  rather  shameful  repulses  which,  within 
the  last  year  or  two,  our  troops  have  met  with  in  different 
parts  of  the  world.  Well,  when  you  know  you  are  stand- 
ing on  sure  ground,  you  can  afford  to  despise  the  shots 
that  are  fired  at  you  by  godless  men.  Nay,  more,  the  fact 
is,  it  is  a  great  help  to  you,  if  your  faith  is  genuine,  to 
meet  with  a  little  opposition  at  times.  A  man  is  none  the 
worse  a  Christian  for  having  occasionally  to  stand  up  for 
his  principles.  It  makes  your  religion  more  real,  and 
gives  you  greater  confidence  in  its  power. 


io6  The  City  Youth, 

And  this  explains  what  many  a  young  man  has  said  to 
me,  "  Sir,  I  have  found  it  to  be  an  immense  advantage  to 
me  as  a  Christian  to  be  a  member,  a  communicant  of  the 
Church.  I  have  felt  that  I  was  committed  to  the  side  of 
Christ,  and  it  has  emboldened  me  to  resist  temptation." 

I  wish  that  some  of  you  dear  fellows  would  look  at  the 
matter  in  this  light.  You  used  to  go  to  the  Lord's  table, 
but  you  have  given  it  up.  It  doesn't  say  much  for  a  man's 
inner  life  when  this  is  the  case.  Perhaps  your  certificate 
of  church  membership  is  lying  at  the  bottom  of  your  desk, 
unused.  Our  own  church-books  tell  us  of  young  men  who 
came  for  some  months  to  the  sacrament,  and  then  gave 
it  up.  I  Avould  not  utter  one  reproachful  word.  No  doubt 
your  conscience  forbade  you  to  come ;  and  if  it  was  so,  it 
w^ould  have  been  a  far  graver  sin  to  partake.  But,  you 
don't  need  me  to  tell  you  that  is  not  a  satisfactory  state  to 
live  in.  Far  from  it.  And  it  grows  upon  one.  This  is 
just  the  way  many  lapse  back  into  practical  heathenism. 
They  do  not  mean  to,  but  they  get  on  the  incline,  and 
slip  down  imperceptibly.  Oh,  it  is  a  grand  thing  to  see 
a  man  taking  his  stand  as  a  pronounced  and  thorough 
Christian,  and  meeting  all  the  solicitations  of  vice  and 
assaults  of  ridicule  with  the  manly  declaration  of  Obadiah, 
**  I  fear  the  Lord  from  my  youth." 

This  word  has  a  special  application  to  some  of  you.  I 
nevLT  knew  a  church  like  this  for  drafting  men  off  in  scores 
to  all  parts  of  the  world.  Nay,  the  hundreds  of  young  men 
who  have  passed  through  this  congregation,  and  are  now 
juivhing  their  fortunes  in  one  or  other  of  the  British  colonies, 
the  number  I  say  is  surprising.  I  am  told  that  in  South 
Africa  there  is  a  well-doing  batch  of  young  men,  who  are 
thiuking  of  calling  themselves  "  The  Colebrooke  Colony." 
God  bless  them,  every  one  !  I  am  sure  they  could  not 
say  in  the  words  of  Barrington,  **  Be  it  understood,  we  left 


Fearirjg  the  Lord  from  One  s   Youth,      107 

our  country  for  our  country's  good  ;  "  for  we  miss  them 
much,  and  were  loth  to  part  with  them  ;  but,  if  it  is  for 
the  good  of  those  distant  regions,  we  shall  be  reconciled 
to  the  loss.  I  believe  that  some  of  them  have  had,  and 
that  some  of  you  will  have,  nearly  as  difficult  a  part  to  act 
as  Obadiah  had  at  the  Court  of  Queen  Jezebel.  But  oh, 
for  a  faithful  and  courageous  testimony !  It  is  a  grand 
opportunity  that  God  gives  you.  It  is  some  of  our  very 
best  young  men  that  get  these  important  openings 
abroad ;  and  I  suppose  we  ought  to  be  thankful  for  it, 
for  they  spread  the  good  seed  far  and  wide.  I  know  that 
some  who  have  gone  to  the  ends  of  the  earth  **  feared 
the  Lord  greatly "  whilst  they  were  here ;  nor  have  I  a 
doubt,  that  they  are  true  to  their  principles  still,  and  in 
the  spirit  of  Christian  heroism,  are  never  ashamed  to  say 
to  the  tempter,  **  I  fear  the  Lord  from  my  youth."  God 
help  you  all  to  be  thus  faithful  and  true  1 

In  this  crowded  audience,  there  are  sure  to  be  some  who 
have  not  yet  begun  to  "fear  the  Lord."  If  you  do  not 
look  sharp,  youth  will  soon  be  gone,  and  you  will  never  be 
able  to  make  this  text  your  own.  Dear  brothers,  I  want 
to  get  hold  of  one  or  two  of  you  to-night.  Your  life  will 
never  be  right  till  your  heart  is  right  with  God.  No  out- 
ward moral  patching  will  do.  You  want  a  new  principle 
within  you,  and  that  is  faith  in  Christ  as  your  Saviour.  I 
Gall  on  you  now  to  believe  in  Him,  who  has  taken  away 
the  guilt  of  all  who  put  their  sole  trust  in  Him.  Here  is 
the  only  guarantee  of  a  pure,  moral,  noble  life.  Through 
rejecting  Him,  hundreds  are  every  year  falling  a  prey  to 
vice,  and  sinking  down  to  hopeless  ruin.  Oh,  if  Athens 
of  old  grudged  her  seven  young  men,  who  (according  to 
the  legend)  were  yearly  chosen  by  lot  out  of  her  citizens 
to  be  devoured  by  the  monster  Minotaur  ;  if  she  grudged 
this  yearly   sacrifice,    and    the   whole    city   was    kept    in 


io8  The  City  Youth, 

constant  fright,  not  knowing  on  whom  next  the  fatal  lot 
would  fall ;  I  say,  if  Athens  stood  appalled  at  the  sight 
of  seven  of  her  young  men  being  every  year  consigned  to 
destruction,  how  ought  London  to  stand  aghast  at  the 
thought,  not  of  seven,  but,  I  fear,  of  seventy  times  seven, 
who  every  year  are  sacrificed  on  the  altars  of  Bacchus, 
and  Venus,  and  Plutus,  and  other  false  gods  that  steal  the 
heart  from  Jehovah  !  As  many  an  Athenian  parent, 
according  to  the  story,  used  to  look  upon  his  sons  with 
tears  of  yearning  love,  wondering  if  it  were  possible  that 
one  of  them  would  next  fall  a  prey  to  the  insatiable 
demon ;  so,  to-night,  I  look  around  me  on  this  goodly 
company,  and  knowing  that  Obadiah's  method  is  your 
only  security  against  the  countless  snares  that  beset  you 
in  this  city,  I  beseech  you  all  to  be  worshippers  of  the 
one  living  and  true  God,  and  to  meet  all  the  assaults  of 
the  tempter  and  the  sneers  of  the  scoffer  with  the  firm 
and  decisive  reply,  **  I  fear  the  Lord  from  my  youth." 
Amen. 


PAWS  SISTER'S  SON. 


^  PauPs  stsUr's  son."— Acts  win.  i6. 


VIII. 

PAUVS  SISTER'S  SON. 

YOU  see  we  have  not  yet  exhausted  the  young  men  of 
Scripture.  It  would  be  strange  if  we  were  to  pass 
over  without  notice  the  smart  and  plucky  youth  who  saved 
the  life  of  the  Apostle  Paul.  To  the  promptness  and 
courage  of  that  nameless  lad,  the  Christian  Church,  ay, 
the  world,  owes  more  than  it  will  ever  be  able  to  express. 

But  for  him,  in  all  human  likelihood,  the  Apostle  would 
have  been  massacred.  He  would  have  been  cut  off  in 
the  midst  of  his  usefulness,  and  before  his  great  life 
work  was  half  done. 

Moreover,  we  should  have  had  the  misfortune  to  be 
deprived  of  some  of  his  noblest  Epistles,  which  were 
written  subsequent  to  the  date  of  the  event  before  us. 

There  is  no  story  in  Bible -narrative  which  may  not  teach 
something;  let  us  see  whether  this  may  not  yield  us  a  few 
wholesome  lessons. 

We  do  not  know  much  of  Paul's  nephew ;  in  fact,  we 
know  nothing  more  of  him  than  is  recorded  in  this  pas- 
sage;  but  the  little  that  we  do  know  is  worth  thinking 
over.  Of  the  family  of  the  Apostle  we  have  no  informa- 
tion of  an  authentic  character  beyond  this — that  he  had 
a  married  sister  resident  in  Jerusalem.  As  Paul  had  been 
brought  up  in  the  straitest  sect  of  Judaism,  *'  a  Hebrew 
of  the  Hebrews,"  **  the  son  of  a  Pharisee,"  we  may  take 


112  The  Ci!y  Youth, 

for  granted  that  this  lady  belonged  to  the  same  class  of 
religionists ;  and,  as  neither  she  nor  her  family  are  once 
mentioned  by  her  brother,  and  as,  moreover,  during  his 
visits  to  Jerusalem  he  seems  never  to  have  put  up  at  her 
house,  we  may  fairly  presume  that  she  stuck  to  the  ritual 
of  her  Jewish  fathers,  and  had  no  sympathy  whatever  with 
the  new-born  Christian  religion.  It  is  possible  she  thought 
her  brother  a  dangerous  heretic  and  revolutionist,  and 
deplored  the  course  he  was  pursuing.  But  *'  blood  is 
thicker  than  water,"  and  her  natural  affection  was  stirred 
by  a  rumour  that  reached  her,  that  a  plot  was  being  hatched 
for  his  assassination. 

How  did  this  come  about  ? 

The  exasperation  of  the  Jewish  rabble  against  Paul  was 
fierce  and  wild  in  the  extreme.  They  were  positively  mad 
in  their  rage  against  him.  **  Men  of  Israel,  help !  "  they 
had  shrieked  aloud ;  "  this  is  the  man  that  teacheth  all 
men  everywhere  against  the  people,  and  the  law,  and  the 
temple ;  ay,  and  that  has  dared  to  bring  Greeks  into  the 
temple,  and  pollute  the  holy  place."  "  Away  with  him  !  " 
they  cried  ;  **  Away  with  such  a  fellow  from  the  earth ! 
for  it  is  not  fit  that  he  should  live." 

Nay,  as  though  they  were  a  company  of  maniacs  escaped 
from  Bedlam,  they  tore  off  their  clothes,  and  threw  dust 
into  the  air,  and  were  ready  to  pull  the  accused  man  to 
pieces  Through  the  moderation,  however,  of  the  chief 
captain  Lysias,  he  was  rescued  from  the  infuriated  mob. 

A  detachment  of  soldiers  was  sent  down  to  snatch  him 
from  their  hands,  and  to  bring  him  to  the  one  spot  in 
Jerusalem  where  he  would  be  perfectly  safe,  the  castle  or 
barracks  of  Fort  Antonia.  It  was  whilst  he  was  there, 
under  the  protection  of  Claudius  Lysias,  that  a  base  con- 
spiracy was  formed  to  get  rid  of  him.  A  sad  picture 
indeed  it  gives  us  of  the  state  of  Jewish  thought  and  feeling 


Paulas  Sister^ s  Son,  113 

at  that  period,  that,  amongst  men  who  professed  to  be 
zealous  for  religion,  such  a  plot  was  possible  ;  and  not  only 
this,  but  that  it  met  with  the  covert  approbation  of  a  por- 
tion of  the  Sanhedrim.  Forty  determined  men  entered 
into  a  solemn  compact,  bound  themselves  with  an  oath, 
that  not  one  of  them  would  touch  food  until  Paul  should 
be  slain.  But  how  were  they  to  get  at  his  person  }  Their 
ingenuity  was  equal  to  the  occasion. 

Going  to  those  of  the  priests  and  elders  whom  they 
knew  to  be  bitterly  hostile  to  Paul,  they  disclosed  to  them 
the  secret,  and  secured  their  co-operation.  These  priests 
and  elders  were  to  persuade  the  council,  or  Sanhedrim,  of 
which  they  formed  a  part,  to  send  a  polite  message  to  the 
castle,  requesting  the  commandant  to  bring  down  Paul  to 
them  on  the  morrow,  that  more  full  inquiry  might  be  made 
about  him.  Meanwhile  the  conspirators  would  be  lying 
in  wait,  and  at  a  fitting  opportunity  they  would  rush  forth 
and  put  him  to  death. 

But  a  secret  known  to  upwards  of  forty  persons,  and 
demanding  the  complicity  of  a  good  many  more,  was  likely 
to  ooze  out.  In  some  way  or  other  it  reached  the  ear  of 
the  Apostle's  sister;  and  I  can  quite  understand  how  it 
would  do  so,  if  she  was,  as  I  have  conjectured,  herself  a 
bigoted  Pharisee.  She  just  caught  a  whisper  of  the  fact, 
that  a  huge  conspiracy  had  been  concocted  to  get  rid  of 
her  brother  ;  and  that,  on  his  way  down  from  the  castle 
to  the  Sanhedrim  to-morrow,  he  was  to  be  assassinated. 
There  was  no  time  to  be  lost.  It  was  not  easy  for  herself 
personally  to  thwart  the  plot,  but  she  had  a  son,  active  and 
obliging,  and  in  God's  providence  he  was  the  means  of 
saving  his  uncle's  life.  Hastening  off  to  Fort  Antonia, 
he  found  access  to  his  relative,  who,  though  in  military 
custody,  was  not  just  now  exactly  a  prisoner;  and  he 
acquainted  him  with  the  facts  of  the  case. 

8 


114  ^/^^  ^^(y  Youth, 

If  ever  man  had  a  cool  head  on  his  shoulders  it  was  the 
Apostle  Paul.  His  good  sense  was  equal  to  the  occasion. 
It  is  perfectly  true  that  within  the  past  twenty-four  hours 
the  Lord  had  appeared  to  him  in  a  vision,  and  assured 
him  of  his  safety.  He  had  cheered  the  heart  of  His 
servant  by  telling  him  that,  as  he  had  borne  testimony 
for  his  Master  in  Jerusalem,  so  would  he  also  do  in  Rome. 
It  was  clear,  therefore,  from  this,  that  the  murderous  con- 
spiracy would  be  foiled. 

But  Paul  quite  understood  that  the  Divine  purposes 
and  promises  are  consistent  with  human  efforts,  nay, 
imply  the  faithful  use  of  means.  The  heavenly  assurance 
he  had  obtained  only  encouraged  him  to  take  what 
*seemed  the  wisest  steps  for  his  own  safety.  So,  imme- 
diately sending  for  one  of  the  centurions  of  the  garrison, 
he  requested  him  to  conduct  his  nephew  to  the  chief 
captain,  as  he  had  something  of  importance  to  tell  him. 
With  a  soldier's  promptness  and  generosity  the  man  did 
as  he  was  asked.  **  Here  is  a  young  man,"  said  he  to 
Lysias,  the  chief  captain,  "  whom  Paul  wishes  me  to 
introduce  to  you,  as  he  has  some  matter  of  consequence 
to  communicate." 

Lysias  was  one  of  those  affable,  frank,  kind,  open- 
hearted  men,  with  whom  at  once  you  feel  perfectly  at 
home.  In  the  heartiest  way  he  took  the  lad  by  the  hand 
(noticing,  perhaps,  that  he  was  a  little  shy  or  nervous  in 
the  presence  of  so  high  a  functionary),  and  drew  him 
aside  into  a  quiet  corner,  asking  him,  *'  What  is  it  you 
have  to  say  to  me?" 

The  youth  told  him  all  the  facts  that  had  come  to  the 
knov.ledge  of  himself  and  his  mother ;  and  asked  him,  in 
the  event  of  the  Jews  requesting  him  to  bring  down  Paul 
on  the  morrow  to  the  council,  not  to  yield  to  their  request. 
Lysias   was   sharp   enough,    in  a  moment,  to  grasp  the 


Paur s  Sister* s  Son,  1 15 

situation,  and  make  up  his  mind  as  to  the  course  he 
should  pursue. 

**  Don't  tell  anybody  that  you  have  seen  me,"  said  he  to 
his  young  informant :  **  keep  the  matter  quiet ;  and  I  will 
secure  your  uncle's  safety." 

Thereupon,  letting  the  lad  depart,  he  ordered  two 
hundred  soldiers  to  be  equipped,  seventy  cavalrymen,  and 
two  hundred  lancers  or  spearmen.  **  Have  them  ready 
at  nine  o'clock  this  very  night,"  he  said  to  two  of  the 
centurions.  The  thing  was  done.  At  nine  o'clock  that 
night,  had  you  been  in  Jerusalem,  you  might  have  dimly 
descried  in  the  darkness  the  heavy  gates  of  the  Antonian 
barracks  rolled  back,  and  a  cavalcade  issuing  therefrom 
into  the  silent  streets,  in  the  centre  of  which  was  Paul 
mounted  on  horseback,  with  a  long  and  dreary  ride  of 
thirty-five  miles  before  him.  This  would  bring  him  to 
Antipatris,  where  they  were  to  halt  and  rest  a  fev/  hours, 
pushing  on  next  day  to  Csesarea,  where  the  Governor 
Felix  had  his  official  residence,  to  whom  Lysias  was 
sending  Paul. 

I  need  not  further  pursue  the  story ;  for  I  have  brought 
these  details  before  you  just  for  the  purpose  of  bringing 
out  in  clear  relief  the  valuable  services  which  this  young 
man  rendered  to  the  Apostle,  entitling  him  to  the  heart- 
felt gratitude  of  the  Christian  Church  of  all  after  ages. 

Our  subject  this  evening  you  m.ay  think  not  quite  so 
instructive  and  interesting  as  usual,  but  I  am  sure  this 
youth  is  mentioned  for  a  purpose ;  and  I  mean  to  take 
away  four  practical  thoughts  from  the  narrative. 

I.  First,  we  learn  that  hiunhle  and  nameless  individuals 
are  sometimes  of  great  service  in  the  ivorld.  There  are 
anonymous  ministries  in  life  that  are  of  unspeakable 
importance.     The  agent  is  unknown  or  forgotten,  but  the 


Ii6  The  City  Youth. 

deed  lives  for  ever.  Many  a  well-known  name  stands  out, 
even  on  the  page  of  Scripture,  whose  owner  never  rendered 
any  service  to  society  that  can  for  a  moment  compare  with 
the  act  of  this  nameless  Jewish  lad.  The  youthful  form  of 
"Paul's  sister's  son"  appears  for  a  moment  out  of  the  dark- 
ness ;  and  then  at  once  relapses  into  the  darkness  again. 

As  ships  meet  during  night  at  sea,  a  moment  together 
when  words  of  greeting  are  spoken,  and  then  off  and  away, 
never  to  cross  each  other's  path  again;  as  a  figure  appears 
upon  the  canvas  of  a  moving  panorama,  for  an  instant 
arresting  every  eye,  and  then  glides  past,  never  to  be 
looked  on  more ;  so,  in  the  page  of  history,  and  so  in  our 
own  observation,  some  individuality  suddenly  appears  in 
the  foreground,  and  fills  an  important  mission,  and  then 
as  quickly  vanishes,  and  is  forgotten. 

I  put  the  question  only  last  week  to  an  intelligent  Chris- 
tian person  who  is  well  acquainted  with  the  Bible  :  "  Do 
you  remember  what  an  unspeakably  valuable  service  was 
rendered  to  the  Church  of  Christ  by  a  nephew  of  St.  Paul, 
in  saving  the  life  of  the  great  Apostle  }  "  The  reply  was, 
**  I  do  not  recollect  the  mention  of  any  such  person  in 
Scripture."  (The  narrative  before  us  had  clearly  made 
but  little  impression  on  that  mind.)  Well,  perhaps,  some 
of  you  are  at  times  tempted  to  a  feeling  of  discouragement, 
because  you  are  never  likely  to  occupy  a  position  of 
prominence  or  distinction. 

Outside  of  your  own  family  your  name  is  not  known, 
nor  ever  likely  to  be.  You  are  destined  to  a  place  of 
obscurity. 

Never  mind  that,  my  friend.  You  may  do  splendid 
work  for  society,  and  for  the  Lord,  though  your  name  is 
seldom  heard.  The  craving  for  notoriety,  the  desire  to 
have  your  name  in  every  one's  mouth,  is  often  a  serious 
drawback   to    real    usefulness.      i\Iany  a   noisy  and  fussy 


PauPs  Sisters  Son.  117 

philanthropist,  whose  personality  is  constantly  thrust  before 
the  public,  is  doing  a  far  less  solid  and  valuable  work, 
than  some  quiet  and  unobtrusive  Christian  labourer,  who 
is  toiling  amid  the  neglected  children  of  our  lanes  and 
slums.  We  take  a  very  superficial  view  of  human  life,  if 
we  do  not  see  that  many  of  the  men  the  world  can  least 
spare  are  those  whose  sphere  is  in  the  background,  and 
whose  names  are  rarely  heard  of. 

It  has  often  been  said,  that  there  are  few  things  better 
fitted  to  humble  a  young  man  than  to  be  thrown  into  this 
great  world  of  London  ;  for,  however  conspicuous  he  may 
have  been  in  the  country  town  or  village  he  came  from, 
here  he  is  at  once  lost  in  the  mighty  throng. 

And  yet,  if  a  man  has  anything  in  him,  any  latent 
energy  and  *'  stuff,"  and  especially  if  he  has  the  grace  of 
God,  it  is  certain  he  will  not  be  long  without  finding  scope 
for  its  exercise  ;  and  often  the  opening  turns  up  in  the 
most  unlooked-for  quarter.  I  will  undertake  at  any 
moment  to  bring  you  a  modest  lad,  doing  good  philan- 
thropic work,  rescue  work,  in  one  of  our  poor  mission 
districts,  who,  in  the  sight  of  God  and  of  all  wise  men,  is 
worth  fifty  of  your  idle  vulgar  "  swells,"  who  imagine  that 
all  men  admire  them,  and  that  all  women  are  in  love  with 
them,  and  who  are  positively  not  worth  the  food  and 
oxygen  they  consume. 

II.  The  next  thing  I  wish  to  point  out  to  you  from 
this  story  is  the  value  of  promplness  in  action.  Had  the 
youth  before  us  paused  an  hour  or  two,  in  all  human 
certainty  the  Apostle  would  have  been  slain.  The  value 
of  his  act  lay  in  the  ready  smartness  with  which  he  did  it. 
Off  instanter  to  the  castle,  the  moment  he  hears  of  the 
dark  plot  that  has  been  formed.  It  is  a  life-long  dis- 
advantage to  many  a  youth  that  he  is  so  slow  and  lethargic 
in  his  movements. 


Ii8  The  City  Youth. 

In  these  busy  days  in  which  we  live  time  means  money ; 
and  the  young  fellow  who  looks  as  though  he  were  half- 
asleep,  and  cannot  spring  at  once  to  the  call  of  duty,  will 
be  left  far  behind  by  his  more  agile  companion,  who  docs 
with  promptness  and  despatch  whatever  work  is  committed 
to  him. 

The  proverb,  "  Slow  and  sure,"  sound  though  it  often 
is,  is  responsible  for  a  good  deal  of  wasted  time  ;  for  there 
is  many  a  case  in  which  "prompt  and  sure"  would  be  a 
wiser  adage. 

Sir  Walter  Scott,  when  writing  on  one  occasion  to  a 
young  man  who  had  just  obtained  a  situation,  gave  this 
good  advice  :  '*  Beware  of  a  propensity  which  easily  besets 
you — I  mean  what  women  call  dawdling.  Let  your  motto 
be  Hoc  age.  Do  instantly  whatever  is  to  be  done,  and 
take  your  recreation  after  business,  never  before  it." 

Remember,  my  friends,  dispatch  does  not  mean  hurry. 
Hurry  is  the  mark  of  a  weak  mind,  dispatch  of  a  strong 
one. 

When  a  regiment  is  under  march,  the  rear  are  some- 
times thrown  into  confusion  because  the  front  are  lazy 
and  irregular ;  so  the  whole  arrangements  in  a  house  of 
business  may  be  retarded  and  thrown  out  of  gear,  be- 
cause the  lads  who  do  the  initial  work  are  trifling  and 
dilatory. 

The  dawdler,  indeed,  is  generally  more  of  a  hindrance 
than  a  help  ;  like  a  squirrel  in  a  revolving  cage,  he  has 
the  appearance  of  being  busy,  but  accomplishes  no 
results  ;  has  a  hundred  irons  in  the  fire,  but  few  of  them 
are  hot,  and  with  the  few  that  are  he  only  burns  his 
fingers. 

It  is  said  of  one  who  came  to  great  distinction  in  the 
House  of  Commons,  that  the  first  occasion  of  his  opening 
his  mouth  in  that  assembly  was  when,  as  quite  a  young 


Paulas  Sister's  Sun.  119 

man,  he  rose  and  gave  prompt  expression  to  his  views  on 
some  question  that  was  before  the  House. 

He  sat  down  nervous,  and  ;  fraid  he  had  made  a 
bUinder.  In  a  few  minutes  a  little  piece  of  paper  was 
handed  to  him  with  two  words  written  on  it  by  the 
greatest  statesman  of  the  day  ;  and  these  words  were  : 
♦'  You'll  do." 

The  incident  yielded  him  so  much  stimulus  and  en- 
couragement that  he  retained  that  morsel  of  paper  as  one 
of  his  greatest  treasures ;  it  was  preserved  as  an  heirloom 
in  the  family ;  and  to-day  may  be  seen  in  the  hall  of  the 
mansion,  handsomely  mounted  and  framed,  pointing  the 
lesson  to  all  young  men  who  enter,  to  be  prompt,  decisive, 
and  courageous :  "  You'll  do." 

There  is  no  reason  in  the  world  why  this  promptness 
of  action  should  be  associated,  as  I  believe  it  often  is, 
with  sharp  practice  and  an  indifferent  morale ;  no  reason 
why  the  most  godly,  trustworthy,  and  conscientious  young 
men  should  sometimes  be  the  most  slow  and  lethargic. 
We  live  in  a  prompt  universe,  and  all  through  the  handi- 
work of  God  we  find  that  time  is  kept  to  a  second.  Every 
world  sweeps  round  its  orbit  without  loss  of  a  single 
moment ;  there  is  no  such  lesson  in  punctuality  as  astro- 
nomy teaches. 

This  is  just  another  way  of  saying  that  God  Himself  is 
prompt  and  punctual. 

Imitate  Him  ;  fall  in  line  with  the  stars ;  what  your 
hands  find  to  do,  do  it  with  your  might. 

I  am  the  more  anxious  to  impress  this  upon  you, 
because,  to  speak  frankly,  there  is  an  epidemic  of  laziness 
abroad,  and  I  meet  even  with  young  men  who  have  caught 
the  infection.  Sheer  unwillingness  to  work.  A  horror 
of  anything  like  sustained  exertion.  Look  down  the 
advertisement  columns  of  the  newspapers,  and  how  often 


I20  The  City   Youth. 

you  will  read,  "A  young  man  desires  a  light  situation.* 
Ward  Beecher  got  a  letter  from  such  a  youth,  asking  him 
to  find  him  an  easy  berth.     He  replied  as  follows : — 

*'  If  you  wish  an  easy  berth  don't  be  an  editor.  Do  not 
try  the  law.  Do  not  think  of  the  ministry.  Avoid  school- 
keeping.  Let  alone  all  ships,  stores,  shops,  merchandise. 
Abhor  politics.  Don't  practise  medicine.  Be  not  a 
farmer  nor  mechanic ;  neither  be  a  soldier  nor  sailor. 
Don't  work.  Don't  study.  Don't  think ;  none  of  these 
are  easy.  Oh,  my  friend,  you  have  come  into  a  hard  world. 
I  know  of  but  one  easy  place  in  it,  and  that  is  the 
grave  I " 

But,  to  return  to  our  subject,  I  remark, 

III.  That  there  is  here  pleasing  evidence  of  the  play 
of  natural  affection.  The  promptness  of  the  youth  is 
notable,  as  indicated  in  the  sixteenth  verse.  The  instant 
he  heard  of  the  conspiracy  against  Paul  he  went  straight 
to  the  castle  to  see  if  it  could  be  thwarted  ;  but  I  do  not 
think  it  was  any  sympathy  with  the  Christian  cause  that 
stirred  him, 

I  have  already  given  you  my  reasons  for  believing  that 
his  mother  and  he  were  stiff  Judaists  of  the  straitest  sect 
of  Pharisees.  We  know  that  the  family  were  so.  Paul 
tells  us  there  was  not  a  more  bigoted  man  on  earth  than 
he  himself  once  was.  Indeed,  he  confesses  he  was  simply 
**  mad "  against  the  Christians,  and  was  exceedingly 
*'  zealoas  for  the  traditions  of  his  fathers."  St.  Luke  says, 
*'  He  made  havoc  of  the  Church,"  and  "  breathed  out 
threatenings  and  slaughter  against  the  disciples  of  the 
Lord."  What  he  himself  had  once  been  in  feeling  and 
conviction,  his  sister  and  her  family  were  still.  They 
would  have  nothing  to  do  with  him.  They  would  not 
have  him  to  their  house. 

But    the   rumour   of  a   base   attack   upon   his   person 


Paul's  S'sfers  Son.  121 

touched  the  tender  chords  of  their  hearts.     Natural  alTcc- 
tion  triumphed  over  the  bitterness  of  religious  animosity. 

The  chivalrous  spirit  of  the  young  man  was  roused  ; 
and,  by  all  means,  his  uncle  must  be  saved  from  the  plot 
that  had  been  laid  for  him. 

We  applaud  the  lad  for  this.  He  was  better  than  his 
creed.  It  was  a  fine  trait  of  character,  this  loving  concern 
for  his  relative.  No  doubt  he  imperilled  his  own  safety 
in  exerting  himself  for  that  of  Paul.  Perhaps  the  Apostle 
had  him  in  mind  when,  subsequently,  he  wrote  to  Timothy, 
**  If  any  have  children  or  nephews,  let  them  learn  first 
to  show  piety  at  home."  His  own  nephew  set  a  good 
example. 

Without  venturing  to  be  too  personal,  I  may  just  throw 
out  the  hint  that,  possibly,  some  of  you  might  do  well  to 
take  a  leaf  out  of  his  book.  I  have  known  men  who, 
when  they  got  on  a  bit,  seemed  to  forget  that  they  had 
any  relatives  in  the  world.  As  the  chief  butler,  in  the 
story  in  Genesis,  when  he  himself  was  lifted  up  to  a  high 
position  in  Pharaoh's  household,  forgot  all  about  Joseph, 
who  was  still  bound  in  prison  ;  so,  to  the  shame  of  our 
poor  human  nature,  it  has  too  often  happened  that  pro- 
sperity and  success  have  eaten  out  the  finer  feelings,  and 
developed  a  detestable  selfishness.  God  forbid  that  any 
of  you  should  ever  disregard  the  ties  of  birth  and  blood,  or 
"  hide  yourselves  from  your  own  flesh."  There  is  not 
a  finer  sight  to  be  looked  upon  —and  I  am  glad  to  tell  you 
I  have  often  seen  it  here — than  a  young  man  who  has  got 
on  well  in  the  world  sending  substantial  help  to  a  widowed 
mother,  or  taking  in  hand  the  education  of  a  younger 
brother,  or  saving  so  much  from  his  weekly  wage  <  r 
quarter's  salary,  to  help  some  other  relative  who  was  in 
need.  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  such  a  man  shall  in  no  wise 
lose  his  reward. 


122  The  City  Youth, 

IV.  I  would  like  to  say  one  thing  moie  before  I  close. 
The  narrator  of  this  whole  story,  you  are  aware,  was 
St.  Luke ;  and  Dr.  Farrar,  I  see,  infers  from  the  fulness 
of  the  details  that  St.  Luke  received  the  full  account  from 
the  youth  himself.  Of  course,  he  was  the  only  person 
who  could  relate  what  passed  between  the  Apostle  and 
himself  at  the  interview  in  the  castle  ;  but  sure  I  am,  that 
Paul,  who  did  not  hesitate  to  turn  his  lodging  into  a  place 
of  worship,  and  his  prison-cell  into  a  sanctuary,  would  not 
let  his  nephew  go  ivithout  speaking  to  him  about  his  soul.  A 
natural  diffidence,  perhaps,  would  prevent  the  lad  repeat- 
ino-  it ;  but,  let  us  hope  the  word  was  blest  to  his  en- 
lightenment and  salvation.  Paul's  rule  was  to  be  *'  instant 
in  season,  out  of  season,"  to  .seize  every  opportunity,  to 
bear  testimony  for  Christ,  "  in  the  palace,  and  in  all  other 
places ; "  and  who  can  doubt  that  he  used  his  endeavour 
to  bring  his  own  sister's  son  to  Jesus  }  But,  what  the 
issue  was,  we  do  not  know.  A  man  may  have  every 
natural  amiability,  and  yet  be  unsaved.  Even  kinship 
with  the  greatest  of  the  apostles  will  not  save  a  soul. 

There  must  be  a  personal  knowledge  of,  and  devotion 
to  Him  for  whom  Paul  was  willing  to  suffer  the  loss  of 
all  things,  even  of  life  itself,  that  he  might  but  advance 
His  kingdom.  There  must  be  genuine  self-surrender  to 
the  living  Christ 

Oh,  what  a  grand  day  will  it  be  for  our  country,  when 
the  great  body  of  her  sons,  disccirding  the  follies  and 
indiscretions  of  youth,  shall  rise  to  the  dignity  of  a 
Christian  manhood,  and  bear  aloft  the  unsullied  standard 
of  t]-uth  and  righteousness! 

Mere  political  power  and  material  pro'^perity,  upheld 
and  guided  by  no  spiritual  forces,  and  allying  themselves 
to  none  of  the  higher  elements  of  our  nature,  will  only 
sink  their  worshippers  deeper  in  a  hopeless  abyss.     But, 


PauPs  Sister'' s  Son,  1 23 

let  these  be  linked  with  a  pure  and  living  Christianity ; 
let  the  teachings  of  this  deathless  Book  be  interwoven 
with  all  our  commerce  and  legislation ;  then  may  we 
augur  brighter   days  for  the  land   of   our  fathers,   when 

every  wrong  shall  be  redressed,  and  every  sore  be  healed ; 

• 

*'  When  crime  shall  cease,  and  ancient  fraud  shall  fail, 
Returning  justice  lift  aloft  her  scale; 
Peace  o'er  the  realm  her  olive  wand  extend, 
And  white-robed  innocence  from  Heaven  descend." 

The  Lord  hasten  it  in  His  time.    Amen. 


"  WHOSE  SOiV  ART  THOU.    YOUNG  MAN?** 


**  Whose  son  artihoti,  young  man? ''—I  Samuel  xvil  £8, 


IX. 

«  WHOSE  SON  ART  THOU,   YOUNG  MAN?'* 

THE  curtain  rises  upon  a  scene  that  occurred,  as 
nearly  as  we  can  calculate,  about  one  thousand  and 
sixty  years  before  Christ,  when  two  armies  stood  face  to 
face  with  one  another  at  the  pass  of  Ephes-dammin, 
among  the  frontier  mountains  of  Judah.  The  little  river 
Elah  divided  them,  the  Philistines  being  encamped  on 
that  side,  the  Israelites  on  this.  Day  after  day,  a  fierce- 
looking  fellow,  ten  feet  and  a  half  in  stature,  and  clad 
from  head  to  foot  in  armour  of  brass,  stood  forth  on  the 
opposite  slope,  and  with  stentorian  voice  shouted  across 
defiant  insult  to  the  army  of  Israel,  and  challenged  them 
to  produce  a  man  to  fight  with  them.  It  seemed  that 
no  one  was  prepared  to  grapple  with  so  ugly  a  foe. 
Morning  and  evening,  for  forty  successive  days,  did  this 
mountain  of  braggadocio  step  out  with  insolent  mien,  and 
fling  his  defiant  challenge  at  the  hosts  of  Israel. 

At  this  juncture,  a  short,  fair,  sunburnt  youth — David 
by  name — arrived  in  the  camp,  sent  by  his  father  v/ith  a 
hamper  of  provisions  for  three  of  his  brothers  who  were 
serving  in  the  army.  Of  course,  the  lad  soon  learnt  what 
was  going  on.  In  fact,  he  heard  with  his  own  ears  the 
rough  voice  of  the  monster  Philistine,  and  his  very  soul 
burned  within  him.  All  the  patriotism  of  his  nature  was 
stirred.     **By  the  help  of  God,"  he  vowed,   "I  shall  lay 


128  The  City  Youth. 

the  giant  low."  To  omit  details,  and  cut  the  story  short, 
young  David  undertook  the  task.  Destitute  of  armour,  and 
provided  only  with  a  good  sling  and  a  few  pebbles  from 
the  brook,  he  went  forth  to  meet  his  foe.  The  vauntful 
champion  laughed  the  stripling  to  scorn.  But  the  brave 
and  dauntless  lad  knew  what  he  was  about ;  and  having 
charged  his  sling,  he,  with  extraordinary  force  and  precision 
of  aim,  sent  the  stone  hurling  right  into  the  giant's  fore- 
head, who  gave  a  groan,  staggered,  and  fell  to  the  ground. 
David  then  ran  up,  stood  upon  the  prostrate  body,  and 
snatching  out  of  its  hand  the  sword,  cut  off  the  head,  and 
brought  it  in  triumph  to  King  Saul  at  Jerusalem. 

I  am  not  surprised  that  when  this  shepherd-boy  (ushered 
in  and  introduced  by  Abner,  commander-in-chief)  entered 
the  Royal  presence  with  the  ghastly  trophy,  his  fingers 
clutching  the  hair  of  Goliath's  head,  the  king  looked  at 
him  with  admiring  wonderment,  and  put  the  plain,  straight- 
forward question  of  my  text,  "  Whose  son  art  thou,  young 
man  ?  " 

It  was  natural  that  Saul  should  wish  to  know  something  of 
the  antecedents  of  so  brave  a  youth  ;  doubtless,  he  wanted 
all  the  particulars  about  his  age,  the  place  of  his  birth,  his 
upbringing,  his  occupation,  and  so  forth  ;  but  he  conceived 
that  such  signal  valour  must  be  hereditary  and  ancestral ; 
so  his  first  and  main  inquiry  touched  the  parentage  of  the 
juvenile  warrior,  "  Young  man,  who  was  your  father?'* 

The  question,  short  and  simple  as  it  is,  is  suggestive  of 
some  practical  thoughts  on  the  subject  of  personal  responsi- 
bility, and  faithfulness  to  the  traditions  of  one's  pedigree  ; 
or,  it  may  be,  in  the  way  of  warning  against  lineal  weak- 
nesses and  vices ;  so  you  must  excuse  me  being  frank  with 
you  to-night,  and  must  not  deem  it  an  impertinence,  if  I 
look  straight  into  the  face  of  every  brother  before  me,  and 
inquire,  *'  Whose  son  art  thou,  young  man  }  '* 


**  W/iose  Son  art  Thou,   Young  Man  7''''     129 

Whatever  views  we  may  hold  upon  the  subject  of 
heredity,  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  as  to  the  fact,  that 
qualities,  moral,  intellectual,  and  physical,  are  transmitted 
from  father  to  son.  In  thousands  of  instances  we  see 
certain  tendencies  and  idiosyncrasies  handed  down  through 
successive  generations. 

Sometimes  it  is  positively  amusing.  Without  a  mistake 
I  can  recognise  in  that  boy's  handwriting  the  pen  of  his 
father,  and  of  his  grandfather  too.  In  other  cases  we  see 
the  hereditary  transmission  in  peculiarities  of  figure  or 
stature;  in  the  tones  of  the  voice;  in  hesi;ancy  or  volu- 
bility of  utterance ;  in  dimness  or  nearness  of  sight ;  or, 
perhaps,  in  the  early  whitening  of  the  hair,  or,  what  is 
worse,  the  loss  of  it.  Some  families  are  noted  for  long- 
evity; others  for  good  looks  ;  others  for  love  of  adventure. 
The  aquiline  nose  runs  in  the  line  of  the  Buonapartes  ; 
the  large  lip  in  the  House  of  Hapsburg;  the  bakl  head 
in  the  House  of  Hanover.  In  some  instances  there  is  a 
certain  expression  of  countenance  traceable  to  the  third  or 
fourth  generation.  I  call  on  one  of  you  at  your  lodging, 
and  take  up  the  portrait  album  on  your  table  ;  and  instantly 
say,  as  I  point  to  a  photograph  there,  though  I  never  saw 
the  original,  "  You  don't  need  to  tell  me  who  that  is  ;  one 
can  see  at  a  glance  that  you  are  a  chip  of  the  old  block." 
IMental  qualities  are  transmitted  too.  I  am  not  much  of  a 
phrenologist,  but  I  have  only  to  look  at  that  lad's  head  to 
see  from  the  bumps,  that,  like  his/<7/c'r,  he  is  a  mechanical 
genius  ;  in  another  case  it  is  musical  talent  that  descends  ; 
in  another,  the  love  of  poetry;  in  a  fourth,  the  gift  of 
acquiring  languages.  And  what  is  yet  more  to  the  point, 
moral  tendencies,  bad,  good,  and  indifferent,  are  passed 
on  from  parent  to  child.  Only  last  week  I  heard  of  a  case 
in  which  a  confirmed  slave  of  alcohol  actually  said,  "  My 
father  was  a  drunkard,  and  my  grandfather  was  a  drunkard 

9 


I30  The  City  Youth, 

before  him ;  I  shall  be  a  drunkard  too ;  we  belong  to  a 
race  of  drunkards.  I  may  as  well  accept  my  fate,  it  cannot 
be  helped."  So  a  fiery  temper  seems  in  certain  instances 
to  be  perpetuated  in  successive  generations  ;  the  father 
fiercely  passionate,  the  son  and  the  grandson  irate  too. 
There  are  conspicuous  cases  of  close-fisted  greed  being 
ancestral.  The  old  gentleman  would  save  up  every  penny 
he  could  scrape  together;  his  son  is  a  miser,  his  grandson 
is  a  screw.  You  never  hear  of  any  of  that  family  giving 
to  a  good  object ;  they  are  all  born  to  handle  the  rake 
rather  than  the  pitchfork,  to  gather  together  rather  than  to 
scatter  abroad. 

On  the  other  hand,  noble  and  generous  features  of 
character  appear  sometimes  to  run  in  the  blood.  You 
are  a  kind  warm-hearted  man ;  your  parents  were  so 
before  you.  You  are  sternly  upright  and  truthful ;  a  more 
scrupulously  straightforward  man  than  your  father  never 
lived.  In  some  families  there  is  a  long-continued  line  of 
religious  earnestness.  Those  old  well-thumbed  tomes  of 
Puritan  theology,  that  big  old-fashioned  Bible,  bearing 
date  of  more  than  a  century  ago — they  tell  what  kind  of 
a  stock  you  have  come  from,  and  what  a  legacy  of  prayer 
you  have  fallen  heir  to.  If  there  could  be  anything  like  a 
pious  momentum  coming  from  a  long  line  of  Christian  pro- 
genitors, some  of  us  ought  to  be  godly  indeed.  St.  Paul 
was  not  afraid  of  being  misunderstood  by  Timothy,  when 
he  wrote  to  him,  *'  I  thank  God  when  I  call  to  remem- 
brance the  unfeigned  faith  that  is  in  thee,  which  dwelt 
first  in  thy  grandmother  Lois,  and  thy  mother  Eunice." 

And  this  suggests  the  truth,  that  on  the  mother's 
side,  perhaps  even  more  than  the  father's,  this  law  of 
heredity  seems  to  prevail.  When  David  answered  King 
Saul's  question,  he  made  no  mention  of  his  mother,  but 
there  is  nothing  in  that   omission;   for  he   quite  under- 


**  Whose  So?i  art  Thou,    Young  ManT'     131 

stood  the  monarch's  object,  that  he  wished  to  know  his 
family  connection.  David's  parents  were  still  both  alive, 
'  and  he  wasn't  the  lad  to  forget  them ;  we  know  how,  at  a 
later  period,  when  his  own  life  was  imperilled,  he  got 
-hem  removed  out  of  the  way  of  danger,  and  entrusted 
them  to  the  care  of  the  King  of  Moab  at  Mizpeh,  saying, 
**  Let  my  father  and  my  mother,  I  pray  thee,  remain  with 
thee,  till  I  see  what  God  is  going  to  do  for  me."  I  have 
always  thought  that  his  touching  words  in  the  27th 
Psalm  speak  of  the  ardour  of  his  filial  affection,  and  how 
he  dreaded  the  hour  when  his  parents  should  be  taken 
from  him,  "  When  my  father  and  my  mother  forsake  me, 
then  the  Lord  will  take  me  up."  And  in  a  later  Psalm,  the 
35th  (when,  perhaps,  he  had  already  passed  through  this 
heavy  trial),  he  says,  "I  bowed  dov/n  heavily,  as  one  that 
mourneth  for  his  mother."  Oh,  if  I  wanted  to  touch  a 
tender  chord  in  your  hearts,  and  make  you — some  of  you 
— put  your  sleeve  to  your  eyes,  I  would  speak  of  the 
loved  one  that  bore  you,  that  dandled  you  on  her  knees, 
that  first  taught  you  to  lisp  a  prayer,  and  that  many  a  time 
hushed  you  softly  to  slumber,  when  your  infant  lips  had 
said  ; — 

"Now  I  lay  me  do\\Ti  to  sleep, 
I  pray  thee,  Lord,  my  soul  to  keep  ; 
If  I  should  die  before  I  wake, 
Take  me  to  Heaven  for  Jesus'  sake." 

Blessings  on  her  whitening  head  !  Ah,  brother !  could 
I  be  near  you  in  the  hour  of  strong  temptation,  when  you 
are  ready  to  belie  all  the  holy  memories  of  a  pious  home, 
I  would  whisper  in  your  ear  the  question — till  you  would 
start  back  with  loathing  from  the  vice  to  which  you  were 
going  to  yield — "  Whose  son  art  thou,  young  man  }  " 

But,  to  escape  diffuseness,  and  make  the  subject  pointed 
and  practical,  I  have  four  things  to  say  to  you  to-night. 


132  The  City  Youth, 

I  have  somewhere  read  that  the  ancient  Greeks  had  in 
their  army  faultless  slingers,  who  used  to  fling  leaden 
bullets,  on  which  were  inscribed  the  words,  "  Take  this," 
and  they  were  never  known  to  miss.  I  would  be  as  direct 
and  personal  now,  in  projecting  the  lessons  of  this  little 
text ;  and  would  strike  some  of  you — not  where  David 
struck  Goliath,  in  the  head,  but  where  Nathan  struck 
David — in  the  heart,  as  I  still  press  the  question,  "  Whose 
son  art  thou,  young  man  ?  " 

I.  My  first  word  is  to  those  of  you  ivlio  have  sprung 
fiom  a  loivly  parentage.  If  there  is  anything  more  utterly 
contemptible  than  for  one  who  has  risen  a  bit  in  the  w^orld 
to  be  ashamed  of  his  humble  origin,  it  is  the  conduct  of 
him  who  ridicules  his  low-born  brother.  They  are  a 
mean  pair.  I  admire  the  prompt,  straightforward  answer 
which  David  gave  to  the  king.  No  *'hum'ing"  and 
"  ha'ing  "  about  it,  but  a  smart,  manly  reply,  *'  I  am  the 
son  of  thy  servant  Jesse,  the  Bethlehemite."  He  knew 
that  his  social  position  was  the  humblest ;  but  he  did  not 
hesitate  for  a  moment  to  acknowdedge  it.  Indeed,  he 
often  dwelt  upon  the  fact  in  after  life ;  and  when  God  had 
raised  him  to  be  the  highest  personage  in  the  land,  he 
always  spoke  with  pleasure,  almost  with  pride,  of  his  lowly 
birth.  He  felt  it  no  reproach  to  have  been  "  taken  from 
the  sheep-folds ;  from  following  the  ewes  great  with  young," 
to  feed  his  people  Israel.  In  his  inspired  utterances  we 
find  words  like  these  :  "  I  have  exalted  one  chosen  out 
of  the  people;"  **I  took  thee  from  the  sheep-cote;'* 
**  The  man  who  was  raised  up  on  high." 

Sometimes  we  hear  it  remarked,  with  a  sneer  and  a 
curl  of  the  lip,  concerning  some  young  man  who  is 
doing  well,  and  carrying  all  before  him,  **  Oh,  he  has 
risen  from  the  ranks ! "  Well,  the  more  honour  to  him, 
if  it  is    so  ;  and   the   more   shame   upon  the  silly,   coii- 


^^  Whose  Son  art  Thou,    Yoiuig  Man?^'*     133 

tcmptible  snobbishness  that  could  be  guilty  of  such  an 
utterance.  It  is  in  no  spirit  of  a  cheap  Radicalism  that 
I  say  this.  It  is  not  a  question  either  of  patrician  or 
plebeian  sympathies  at  all.  I  will  venture  to  say  it  is 
simple  common-sense.  It  seems  strange  that  any  intelli- 
gent mind  can  think  otherwise.  Some  very  weak  people 
talk  of  "blue  blood,"  and  of  their  high  connections, 
and  their  family  crest,  and  so  forth  ;  forgetting  that  it 
would  be  something  infinitely  greater  to  boast  of  if  they 
could  tell  of  a  saintly  lineage;  of  progenitors  who,  by 
their  good  works,  had  proved  a  blessing  to  the  world. 
There  are  some  of  the  highest  families  in  the  land  whom 
it  would  hardly  be  polite  to  remind  of  their  ancestry.  The 
less  said  about  it,  the  better.  Blue  blood,  as  it  is  called, 
is  by  no  means  the  purest  blood.  I  believe  that  some  of 
you  have  far  more  reason  to  be  proud  of  your  pedigree, 
than  could  you  trace  it  to  Tudor  or  Plantagenet.  Never 
be  ashamed  of  the  bonnie  old  couple,  though  they  are  a 
little  homely  in  their  ways,  and  sometimes  make  a  slip  or 
two  of  grammar,  and  know  nothing  of  the  fashions  of  the 
world.  The  hands  of  Jesse,  the  Bethlehemite  farmer, 
were  somewhat  horny,  and  his  wife  a  plain,  unpretend- 
ing body;  but  their  son  was  proud  to  take  them  on  a 
visit  to  IMizpeh  of  ]Moab,  and  introduce  them  to  the  kin,"-. 

II.  ]My  next  word  is  upon  the  heavy  responsibilitv  that 
rests  on  you  ivho  have  been  boni  in  the  line  of  a  Christian 
parentage.  We  shall  not  talk  of  rank  now,  but  of  character. 
You  come  out  of  a  godly  nest.  Your  father  was  a  man  of 
God,  your  mother  a  sincere  believer.  I  don't  ask  if  they 
were  perfect.  There  are  no  perfect  people  now,  and  I  do 
not  suppose  there  were  any  perfect  people  then.  I  dare- 
say you  think  they  were  sometimes  a  little  too  strict, 
perhaps  severe.  It  is  a  matter  of  opinion.  Possibly  you 
would  be  a  better  man  to-day,  if  you  had  got  a  little  more 


134  The  City  Yoidh. 

chastisement  in  your  boyhood.  Be  that  as  it  may,  they 
were  earnest,  God-fearing,  consistent  people.  You  re- 
member how  they  loved  the  Bible,  and  the  throne  of  grace. 
You  remember  how  regularly  every  evening  the  old  man 
would  take  down  his  spectacles  from  the  chimney  corner, 
and  read  a  chapter  from  the  Old  Book,  and  then  offer  up 
a  prayer — such  a  prayer!  Then,  on  the  Lord's  Day,  how 
you  were  taught  to  prize  the  sanctuary !  The  singing, 
perhaps,  was  not  first-class,  and  the  sermons  a  trine  long 
and  heavy  ;  but  there  was  an  unction  and  solemnity  about 
the  whole  service  that  tenderly  impressed  your  young 
heart. 
I  **  Still  o'er  these  scenes  your  memory  wakes, 

And  fondly  broods  with  miser  care  ; 
Time  but  th'  impression  deeper  makes. 

As  streams  their  channels  deeper  wear." 

** Whose  son  art  thou,  young  man.?"  If  you  are  not 
proud  of  your  sire,  you  should  be.  Let  me  tell  you  that 
the  purest  blood  this  world  has  ever  known  is  that  of  a 
Christian  ancestry.  It  throws  all  other  nobility  and  aristo- 
cracy into  the  shade.  I  do  not  mean  to  suggest  that  any 
one  will  be  a  Christian  merely  because  his  father  was  one 
before  him.  It  is  but  too  plain  that  grace  does  not  run 
in  the  blood.  The  Bible  itself  teaches  us  this.  Moreover, 
it  affords  us  many  an  instance  (such  as  Ahazand  Manasseh) 
of  prodigal  sons  begotten  of  godly  fathers.  Still,  I  main- 
tain that  it  is  an  unspeakable  advantage  to  have  been  born 
and  brought  up  in  a  pious  home.  A  long  line  of  Christian 
inheritance  is  something  to  rejoice  in.  When  a  man  can 
make  out  a  genealogical  tree  of  his  own  family,  and  point 
out  to  me,  that  root,  stem,  branch,  and  twig  were  all  holy, 
I  say  he  has  good  cause  to  thank  God,  and  esteem  himself 
as  belonging  to  the  peerage  of  the  skies,  Weil  did  William 
Cowper  say — 


**  Whose  Son  art  Thou,    Young  ManV*     135 

*'  My  boast  is  not  that  I  deduce  my  birth 
From  loins  enthroned,  the  rulers  of  the  earth  ; 
But  higher  far  my  proud  pretensions  rise — 
The  son  of  parents  passed  into  the  skies." 

**  Whose  son  art  thou,  young  man  ? "  It  is  a  frightful 
aggravation  of  a  man's  guilt,  when  his  whole  life  is  a 
contradiction  given  to  his  father's  counsels  and  his 
mother's  prayers ;  when  the  child  of  a  godly  ancestry 
tramples  on  all  the  holy  traditions  and  memories  of  the 
past,  and  determinately  breaks  through  the  moral  fences 
that  had  been  set  around  him.  Such  persons  generally 
make  an  awful  rebound.  The  worst  of  men  are  apostates 
from  the  purest  faith.  Tell  me  what  good  influence  a  young 
man  has  resisted  and  defied,  and  I  will  give  you  the  gauge 
of  his  depravity.  I  never  knew  a  case  of  a  son  of  godly 
parents  becoming  an  outcast,  who  did  not  fall  even  lower 
than  the  average  of  outcasts.  He  became  the  most  har- 
dened of  rebels  against  God,  and  his  conversion  seemed 
less  probable  than  that  of  others.  Oh,  you  who  have  come 
of  a  saintly  stock,  it  is  not  enough  that  you  shun  the  career 
of  the  prodigal  ;  God  will  not- let  you  off  with  being  just 
as  good  as  ordinary  men  ;  you  ought  to  be  conspicuous  for 
your  Christian  character.  When  I  think  of  the  blessings 
that  were  showered  upon  your  cradle,  of  the  hymns  and 
verses  you  used  to  learn  in  boyhood,  of  the  prayers  that 
were  offered  to  God  on  your  behalf,  and  of  the  bright  and 
beautiful  example  that  was  ever  set  before  you  in  your  early 
home,  1  cannot  help  taking  the  words  out  of  King  Saul's 
lips,  and  saying,  **  Whose  son  art  thou,  young  man  ?  " 

III.  I  am  not  afraid  to  put  the  question  even  to  those  of 
you  who  have  had  no  such  advantage.  I  thank  God  that 
I  have  seen  many  a  clean  bird  come  out  of  a  foul  nest. 
In  that  vestry,  over  and  over  again,  have  I  been  det  ply 
touched,   upon  making   inquiry,   to   find   from  some  dear 


136  The  City   Youth, 

young  person  who  was  asking  the  way  to  Zion,  that  all 
domestic  influences  had  been  against  him.  "  My  father, 
I  am  sorry  to  say,  is  a  freethinker."  *'  My  father  doesn't 
believe  in  religion,  never  enters  a  place  of  worship."  **  My 
parents  are  both  godless."  All  the  more,  my  dear  brother, 
would  we  surround  you  with  our  love  and  sympathy.  It  is 
dreadful  to  think  of  the  upbringing  which  some  have  had  ; 
their  father  mingling  a  profane  oath  with  almost  every 
sentence,  never  uttering  the  name  of  God  but  to  blaspheme 
it ;  asserting  that  the  Bible  is  a  pack  of  lies ;  spending 
most  of  his  leisure  hours  in  the  public-house ;  and  reeling 
home  only  to  make  his  dwelling  a  hell  on  earth — it  is  a 
mighty  testimony  to  the  power  of  Divine  grace,  that  one 
out  of  such  a  family  should  be  found  striving  to  live  a 
virtuous  and  Christian  life.  My  brother,  do  not  be  dis- 
couraged. God  is  able  to  make  you  stand.  If  ever  a  man 
might  have  been  supposed  to  have  had  bad  blood  in  his 
veins,  it  was  Hezekiah,  who  was  the  son  of  one  of  the 
worst  monarchs  that  ever  reigned  over  Israel.  He  was 
cursed  with  a  most  polluted  parental  example.  One  might 
have  said  of  that  young  man  that  he  was  born  to  vice.  And 
yet  he  turned  out  a  devout  and  holy  man  of  God.  Yes, 
Divine  grace  is  stronger  even  than  blood.  History  can 
supply  many  an  instance,  to  the  praise  of  Him  who  ofttimes 
finds  the  brightest  diamonds  in  the  darkest  mines,  and  the 
richest  pearls  in  the  deepest  seas. 

IV.  One  thought  more.  I  feel  that  I  cannot  part  with 
the  text  without  giving  it  a  purely  spiritual  meaning,  in 
respect  of  which  there  are  but  two  paternities,  and  one  01 
other  of  these  each  of  you  must  own.  Would  to  God  that, 
as  I  address  to  you  all  the  question,  "Whose  sons  are  ye, 
young  men  }  "  you  could  with  one  voice  reply,  "  Behold, 
now  are  we  the  sons  of  God."  **  Ye  are  of  your  father,  the 
devil,"  said  Christ,  with  awful  plainness  of  speech,  to  the 


**  Whose  Son  art  Thou,    Young  Ma7i?^^     137 

unbelieving  Jews  ;  and  let  it  never  be  forgotten  that,  unless 
we  are  the  subjects  of  Divine  adoption,  we  are  all  **the 
children  of  the  wicked  one."  Oh,  let  all  questions  of  mere 
human  parentage  sink  into  insignificance  before  this !  Can 
you  look  up  to  the  great  God  above  you,  and  say,  **  My 
Father"  ?  This  is  what  He  wants  you  to  do.  As  St.  Paul 
says,  **  He  hath  predestinated  us  unto  the  adoption  of 
children  by  Jesus  Christ  to  Himself,  according  to  the  good 
pleasure  of  His  will ;  "  and  again,  "  Ye  are  all  the  children 
of  God  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus."  Through  Christ  you 
have  access  into  this  royal  household  ;  for  "  as  many  as 
receive  Him,  to  them  gives  He  power  to  become  the  sons 
of  God,  even  to  them  that  believe  on  His  name."  I  entreat 
you  all  to  settle  this  great  matter  now. 

**  Return,  O  wanderer,  to  thy  home, 
Thy  Father  calls  for  thee  ; 
No  longer  now  an  exile  roam, 
In  guilt  and  misery. 

Return,  return  ! " 

I  tell  you  that,  whether  you  realise  it  or  not,  you  have,  each 
of  you,  Royal  blood  in  your  veins.  Your  pedigree  traces 
back  to  the  King  of  kings.  St.  Luke  goes  right  up  to  the 
foimtain  head  when  he  finishes  his  genealogical  table  thus  : 
"Which  was  the  son  of  Enos,  which  was  the  son  of  Seth, 
which  was  the  son  of  Adam,  which  was  the  Son  of  God." 
Awake  to  the  glorious  fact,  and  claim  your  high  inherit- 
ance !     Amen. 


CLOAK,  BOOKS,  AND  PARCHMENTS, 


*'  The  cloak  that  I  left  at  Troas  with  Carpus^  when  thou  comest 
bring  with  thee^  and  the  books ^  but  especially  the  parchments.'" — 
2  Timothy  iv.  13. 


X 

CLOAK,   BOOKS,   AND   PARCHMENTS. 

AMONG  the  three  or  four  thousand  stars,  which,  on  a 
clear  moonless  night,  the  naked  eye  can  discern  in 
the  vault  of  heaven,  there  are  only  a  few  which  astrono- 
mers have  been  wont  to  recognise  as  stars  of  the  first 
magnitude.  Not  more  than  twenty,  or,  if  you  include 
Regulus,  twenty-one,  have  been  allotted  to  this  group, 
which  with  the  dazzling  Sirius  at  the  head  of  the  list, 
includes  such  beautiful  objects  as  Argus,  Auturus,  Capella, 
Vega,  and  others  whose  names  are  less  familiar  to  you. 
Were  I  now  to  hand  to  each  of  you  a  blank  sheet  of 
paper,  and  ask  you  to  write  upon  it  the  names  of  the 
twenty-one  greatest  and  most  illustrious  men  that  have 
ever  lived, — men  who  stand  out  conspicuous  in  history  by 
the  brilliance  of  their  genius,  the  force  of  their  character, 
and  the  services  they  have  rendered  to  our  race, — I  have 
no  doubt  that  these  lists,  when  returned,  would  show  a 
vast  variety  of  opinion,  and  that  some  would  contain 
names  which  others  would  exclude.  But  I  am  much 
mistaken  if  on  every  paper,  without  exception,  I  would 
not  find  a  prominent  place  given  to  the  name  of  the 
Apostle  Paul.  Probably,  it  would  not  be  going  too  far  to 
say,  that,  with  the  single  exception  of  that  greatest  of 
men,  that  more  than  man,  *'  the  Man  Christ  Jesus,"  no 
one  ever  lived  who  has  laid  the  world  under  heavi  ;r 
obligation,  or  whose  life  has  made  a  deeper  mark  upon 


142  The  City  Youth. 

human  history.  The  smallest  details  in  such  a  life  possess 
an  interest  all  their  own.  Nothing  is  too  trivial  to  com- 
mand our  attentive  study.  I  have  selected  the  text  before 
us,  unimportant  as  many  might  judge  it  to  be,  because  it 
throws  some  interesting  side  lights  upon  the  great  Apostle. 

This  Epistle  possesses  a  peculiar  interest  as  being  the 
last  letter  which  St.  Paul  wrote.  It  may  be  looked  upon 
as  in  some  sense  the  dying  utterance  of  that  noble  man. 
He  felt  that  the  work  of  his  life  was  nearly  done.  And 
no  grander  words  ever  dropped  from  a  human  pen  than 
those  in  the  seventh  and  eighth  verses,  which  are  prac- 
tically the  conclusion  of  this  Epistle  (for  the  sentences  that 
follow  may  be  regarded  in  the  light  of  a  postscript  to 
the  letter ;  something  written  after,  some  messages  and 
directions  he  thought  well  to  append).  The  words  I  speak 
of  are  these — 'fit  peroration  to  the  testimony  of  his  life  : — 
**  I  have  fought  a  good  fight,  I  have  finished  my  course,  I 
have  kept  the  faith  :  henceforth  there  is  laid  up  for  me  a 
crown  of  righteousness,  which  the  Lord,  the  righteous 
Judge,  shall  give  me  at  that  day,  and  not  to  me  only,  but 
unto  all  them  that  love  His  appearing."  Oh  !  that  you 
and  I,  when  our  term  on  earth  comes  to  a  close,  may  be 
able  with  similar  comfort  to  survey  the  past,  and  with 
similar  hope  to  contemplate  the  future ! 

There  is  little  doubt  that  this  letter  was  written  at  Rome, 
where  the  Apostle  was  at  present  a  prisoner,  and  where 
he  was  likely  to  remain.  Winter  was  coming  on,  and  his 
somewhat  emaciated  frame  was  less  able  than  formerly  to 
withstand  the  cold.  He  remembers  that  when  he  was 
last  at  Troas,  he  left  his  heavy  overcoat  there,  in  charge 
of  his  friend  Carpus,  probably  because  he  preferred  to 
take  a  portion  of  his  journey  on  foot.  He  will  be  sure  to 
need  it  as  the  weather  becomes  more  severe,  so  he  requests 
Timothy,  who  is  now  at  Ephesus,  to  bring  it  with  him 


Cloak ^  Books y  ajid  Parchments.  143 

when  he  comes  west  to  Italy.  Then  he  misses  those 
pleasant  companions,  his  little  stock  of  books,  which  he 
had  felt  obliged  to  leave  behind  him  in  Asia,  and  he 
would  fain  have  them  also  brought,  that  they  may  relieve 
the  monotony  of  his  prison  life.  But,  above  all  things, 
he  desires  to  have  his  "  parchments,"  or  vellum-rolls,  the 
rolls  of  prepared  skin,  as  I  take  it,  on  which  the  ancient 
prophecies  were  transcribed,  constituting  for  him  there- 
fore his  Bible.  Nothing  will  so  cheer  him  in  the  loneliness 
of  his  cell  as  to  have  these  precious  documents  beside 
him,  so  that  he  may  pore  over  the  writings  of  David,  and 
Isaiah,  and  Jeremiah,  and  the  other  inspired  men  of  old. 
**  Bring  with  you  my  overcoat,  my  library,  and  my  Bible." 
Such,  in  the  language  of  modern  life,  is  St.  Paul's  three- 
fold request,  showing  that  he  was  not  indifferent  in  regard 
to  his  health,  his  mental  culture,  or  his  spiritual  welfare. 
The  '*  cloak"  will  benefit  his  body,  the  **  books "  his 
mind,  the  *'  parchment  "  his  soul.  I  wish  all  of  you,  my 
young  friends,  to  give  attention  to  each  part  of  your 
tripartite  nature :  and  therefore,  I  propose  that  you  should 
carry  away  this  evening  a  plain  and  practical  lesson  from 
each  of  the  three  articles  mentioned  in  the  text,  and 

I.  Take  care  of  your  bodily  health.  There  is  some- 
thing very  touching  in  the  request  which  Paul  makes  to 
Timothy,  that  he  would  fetch  him  "  the  cloak  he  had  left 
at  Troas."  Under  what  circumstances  it  had  been  left 
there  we  cannot  ascertain,  but  these  are  easily  conceived. 
Paul,  as  a  laborious  missionary,  was  a  great  traveller,  and 
a  large  proportion  of  his  travelling  was  necessarily  by  sea. 
The  rough  ungainly  ships  of  those  times,  and  the  stormy 
weather  that  often  prevailed  on  the  Mediterranean  and 
-^gean  Seas,  made  a  stout  "overall"  indispensable.  It 
is  just  possible  that  he  had  woven  that  cloak  himself,  out 
of  the  black  goats'  hair  of  his  native  province,  Cicilia ; 


144  The  City  Youth. 

for  he  was  not  ashamed  to  say  to  the  elders  of  Ephesns, 
as  he  held  up  his  hands,  horny  and  stained  with  his 
humble  toil,  *'  Ye  yourselves  know  that  these  hands  have 
ministered  unto  my  necessities."  Who  can  tell  but  that 
with  a  few  books  and  parchments,  that  travelling  cloak 
was  all  he  had  in  the  world  ? 

I  daresay  that,  rough  as  it  was,  it  was  now  "  the  worse  for 
the  wear."  I  daresayit  had  covered  him  in  many  a  storm  of 
rain,  and  had  often  been  splashed  with  the  brine  of  the 
Adriatic  or  Archipelago.  It  is  not  of  much  value  :  but  now 
that  he  sits  shivering  in  his  damp  cell,  and  the  long  nights 
are  coming  on,  he  bethinks  him  of  the  old  great-coat  he 
had  left  at  Troas,  and  begs  Timothy  to  bring  it  with  him ; 
and  the  significance  of  the  request  is  intensified  by  his 
further  urgency  in  the  twenty-first  verse,  that  his  dear  friend 
would  make  an  effort  to  come  before  the  severe  weather 
should  arrive  :    '  Do  thy  diligence  to  come  before  winter." 

By  all  accounts  Paul  was  not  a  man  with  a  robust  frame. 
Tradition  states  that  he  was  pale,  and  spare,  and  of  fragile 
build.  Yet  how  enormous  the  work  that  man  was  able 
to  get  through,  and  how  severe  the  strain  put  upon  his 
strength  1  No  doubt  his  rigid  temperance  had  something 
to  do  with  the  measure  of  health  he  sustained.  He 
**  kept  his  body  under,"  and  nourished  all  his  energies 
for  the  service  of  his  IMaster. 

It  is>ot  unbefitting,  especially  at  this  season,  that  I 
should  say  a  word  to  you  about  taking  care  of  your  health. 
Young  men  are  often  particularly  neglectful  on  this  matter. 
Many  is  the  man  whose  constitution  has  been  undermined 
for  life  by  his  own  carelessness  as  a  youth  in  respect  of 
food,  rest,  and  clothing.  I  am  not  speaking  just  now  of 
immoral  excess.  I  am  presuming  that  I  am  addressing 
virtuous  and  high-principled  men.  I  have  seen  not  a  few 
fine  young  fellows  drop  off  into  chronic  dyspepsia  or  con- 


Cloak y  Books ^  and  ParcJiments,  145 

sumption,  whose  lives,  I  feel  certain,  might  have  been  spared, 
had  they  been  more  attentive  to  the  ordinary  laws  of  health. 
When  a  young  man,  and  especially  one  who  has  come  from 
the  pure  air  of  the  country,  spends  from  eight  to  ten  hours 
a  day  in  a  close  office,  scarcely  breaks  his  fast,  perhaps,  from 
nine  to  six,  sits  up  late  at  night,  takes  little  or  no  exercise, 
and  goes  out  in  all  weathers  unprotected  from  the  cold, 
it  is  no  more  than  we  may  expect,  if  his  constitution  gives 
way,  and  a  rasping  cough  begins  to  sound  the  too  signi- 
ficant alarm.  When  I  see  the  way  that  some  of  you  come 
out  of  an  evening  in  drenching  rain,  or  in  a  biting  east 
wind,  I  feel  much  inclined  to  remind  you  of  Paul's  request 
for  his  overcoat ;  or  to  quote  the  refrain  of  an  old  Scottish 
ballad,  "  Tak'  your  auld  cloak  aboot  ye."  Such  neglect 
has  too  often  laid  the  seeds  of  bronchitis,  or  rheumatism, 
or  pulmonary  disease.  Not  that  I  believe  in  wrapping 
up  too  tightly.  In  one  of  his  lectures  to  his  students, 
]\Ir.  Spurgeon,  with  his  wonted  good  sense,  says,  *'  If  any 
of  you  possess  delightfully  warm  woollen  comforters,  with 
which  there  may  be  associated  the  most  tender  remem- 
brances of  mother  or  sister,  treasure  them, — treasure  them 
in  the  bottom  of  your  trunk, — but  do  not  expose  them  to 
any  vulgar  use  by  wrapping  them  round  your  necks.  If 
any  brother  wants  to  die  of  influenza,  let  him  wear  a  warm 
scarf  round  his  neck;  and  then  one  of  these  nights  he 
will  forget  it,  and  catch  such  a  cold  as  will  last  him  the 
rest  of  his  natural  life."  That  is  sound  advice  ;  but  it 
is  just  possible  to  go  to  the  other  extreme,  and  by  an 
utter  regardlessness  of  your  apparel,  expose  yourselves  to 
a  chill  whose  effects  may  be  most  serious.  However,  I 
have  no  degree  of  M.D.,  and  will  say  no  more  upon  the 
s'ubject ;  but  I  could  not  resist  saying  so  much  upon  the 
old  cloak  that  Paul  left  at  Troas. 

II.  Mainluui  ihc  cidiure  0/  ike  mind.     "Give  attention 

10 


146  The   City   Youth, 

to  reading,"  Paul  wrote  to  Timothy  in  a  former  letter; 
and  it  is  abundantly  evident  that  to  the  utmost  of  his 
power  he  did  so  himself.  From  his  early  years  he  had 
been  trained  to  be  a  thinker.  He  had,  no  doubt,  attended 
some  elementary  classes  in  Tarsus,  and  he  had  enjoyed 
the  instructions  of  the  learned  Gamaliel  at  Jerusalem  ; 
and  we  cannot  read  his  epistles  without  seeing  evidence 
that  he  had  considerable  acquaintanceship  with  Grecian 
literature.  Of  course,  we  cannot  ascertain  what  books 
those  were  which  he  requested  Timothy  to  bring  with 
him,  but  we  can  well  understand  how,  in  the  weary 
monotonousness  of  his  prison  life,  his  active  mind  longed 
for  such  literature  as  he  possessed  ;  and  now  that  he  was 
feft  almost  alone,  their  companionship  would  be  pecu- 
liarly acceptable.  Demas,  he  says,  has  forsaken  him  ; 
Crescens  has  gone  to  Galatia,  Titus  to  Dalmatia,  Tychicus 
to  Ephesus  ;  Erastus  is  staying  at  Corinth,  and  Trophimus 
is  lying  ill  at  Miletus;  so  that,  with  the  exception  of 
Luke,  he  has  not  a  friend  near  him.  Under  these 
circumstances  we  do  not  wonder  that  he  craves  for  the 
society  of  books.  Endowed  with  high  mental  powers,  Paul 
did  not  let  them  lie  waste.  He  believed  in  the  culture  of 
the  mind,  and  was  in  full  sympathy  w'ith  the  sentiment  which 
the  poet  Young  breathes  in  his  *'  Night's  Thoughts," — 

"  The  more  our  spirits  are  enlarged  on  earth, 

The  deeper  draught  shall  they  receive  of  heaven." 

The  Apostle's  request  to  have  his  books  sent  him  is  not 
without  its  lesson  for  every  one  of  you.  Do  not  let  your 
minds  lie  fallow\  Do  not  be  so  engrossed  with  business, 
that  you  rarely  open  an  instructive  book.  Do  not  forget 
that  your  intellect  wants  to  be  stimulated  and  fed,  as  it 
cannot  be  if  you  think  of  nothing  but  bills,  and  accounts, 
and  orders,  and  invoices,  and  what  is  vulgarly  and 
expressively  called    *'shop."     A  sailor,    who  had  circum- 


Cloak ^  Books ^  a7id  Parch?nenls,  147 

navigated  the  globe  with  Captain  Cook,  was  pressed  by 
his  friends  to  give  them  some 'account  of  the  wonders 
he  had  seen,  and  at  last  consented  to  do  so  on  a  certain 
evening.  A  large  and  eager  company  assembled,  in 
expectation  of  a  great  intellectual  treat ;  when  the  rough 
mariner  thus  began  and  ended  his  description  of  his 
travels: — "I  have  been  round  the  world  with  Captain 
Cook,  and  all  that  I  saw  was  the  sky  above  me,  and 
the  water  beneath  me." 

And,  truth  to  tell,  there  are  young  men  who  show  little 
more  discernment  than  that  blunt  sailor.  They  have  no 
intellectual  ambition,  no  'hirst  for  knowledge,  no  passionate 
desire  for  self-improvement.  If  business  is  going  on  well, 
and  their  salary  is  regularly  paid,  and  they  have  enough  to 
eat  and  drink,  they  are  content.  They  rarely  open  a  book, 
or  read  a  line  ;  or,  if  they  do,  ten  to  one  it  is  some  fourth- 
class  novel,  or  comical  newspaper.  There  is  no  systematic 
study ;  no  training  of  the  mind,  no  whetting  or  sharpen- 
ing of  the  intellectual  faculties. 

I  warn  you,  young  men,  against  so  ignoble  a  use  of  what 
is,  in  some  respects,  the  best  part  of  life.  Not  a  few  of  you 
have  enjoyed  the  advantages  of  a  first-class  education.  Your 
scholastic  curriculum  being  now  over,  you  are  engaged  in 
a  warehouse  or  office,  which  occupies  the  largest  share 
of  your  time  and  energy.  You  must  devote  yourselves 
thoroughly  to  the  work.  You  must  throw  yourselves  heartily 
into  the  interests  of  the  business  you  have  entered.  But, 
surely  this  does  not  mean  that  you  are  to  regard  your 
mental  education  at  an  end,  and  abandon  all  the  studies 
you  had  just  legun  to  appreciate.  God  forbid  1  There 
are  few  of  you  that  have  not  some  leisure  time  for  the 
cultivation  of  the  mind.  Books  are  pleasant  companions, 
and  when  they  are  of  a  high  order,  most  useful  and 
profitable    companions    too.      **  Reading,"    says    Bacon, 


14  S  The  City  Yuuih, 

"  makes  a  full  man."  By  intercoarse  with  lofty  thinkers, 
your  character  becomes  elevated,  and  your  minds  expanded. 
In  a  well-stocked  library  you  become  citizens  of  the 
intellectual  world,  and  talk  with  the  noblest  and  the  best 
of  all  past  ages.  There  is  no  reason  why  the  merchant 
should  cease  to  be  the  student ;  w^hy  a  man  of  business 
may  not  also  be  a  man  of  learning. 

Your  reading  should  be  select,  and  yet  wide  and  liberal. 
St.  Paul  himself,  though  a  Christian  missionary,  was  fami- 
liar with  the  heathen  poets  of  his  own  day,  and  even  in 
preaching  the  Gospel  did  not  hesitate  to  quote  them. 

Some  one  once  remarked  that  if  he  were  shut  up  in  a 
solitary  cell,  and  were  allowed  the  companionship  of  three 
books,  he  would  choose  Shakespeare,  Bunyan,  and  the 
Bible;  nor  is  there  anything  to  condemn  in  such  a  selection. 
Your  reading  may  be  varied  without  being  indiscriminate. 
It  is  not  necessary  that  a  book  should  be  religious  in  order 
to  be  wholesale  and  useful.  The  oldest  library  of  which  we 
read  in  history  had  this  inscription  carved  over  the  gate- 
way, ^vyy]^  iarpetov,  "  medicine  for  the  mind  ;  "  nor  was 
the  title  out  of  place,  although  the  shelves  may  have 
contained  no  works  of  theology  or  devotion.  Bad  books 
are  not  to  be  touched,  whether  the  poison  is  atheistical 
or  sensuous.  I  have  known  young  men  dip  into  such 
volumes  just  to  see  what  they  are  like  ;  a  prurient  taste 
w-as  awakened,  and  they  devoured  them  to  the  last  word. 
It  is  said  that  a  serpent  cannot  let  go  what  it  has  once 
begun  to  swallow;  down  it  must  go  whether  the  reptile 
choose  or  not.)  So  it  is,  generally,  with  one  who  begins 
to  read  a  bad  book.  Make  a  clean  sweep  of  all  literary 
rubbish  ;  read  only  that  which  is  "  good  to  the  use  of 
edifying."  Lord  Bacon's  opinion  upon  books  he  thus 
expressed:  That  histories  make  men  wise;  poels,  witty; 
mathematics,  subtle^  natural  science,  deep  ;  moral  ph.lo- 


Cloak y  Bjoks,  and  Pai^chmcnts,  149 

sophy,  grave ;  logic  and  rhetoric,  able  to  debate.  As  you 
would  possess  such  qualities  then,  your  reading  must  be 
catholic  and  extensive.  A  well-read,  well-informed,  and 
cultured  man  has  a  double  enjoyment  of  life,  and  the 
time  that  is  spent  in  wholesome  study  never  turns  out 
to  be  time  thrown  away.  This  brings  me  to  the  last 
lesson  which  the  text  suggests. 

III.  Especially  see  to  the  welfai-e  of  the  soul.      I  have 
already  expressed  the  opinion,  that  by  "  the  parchments  " 
mentioned,    the   Apostle   probably   refers    to   the   sacred 
Scriptures.      The   *' books"  alluded   to   are  supposed  to 
have  been  made  of  a  species  of  paper,  formed  out  of  the 
fibrous  leaves  of  the  papyrus,  a  kind  of  reed  which  grows 
abundantly   in  the  River  Nile.     For  more  important  and 
precious  documents  the   prepared  skins  of  animals  were 
employed  :  and  as  the  manufacture  of  this  material  was 
carried  to  great  perfection  at  Pergamos  in  Asia  I\Iinor,  it 
took  its  name  from  that  city,  a  word  which  has  contracted 
into  "  parchment."     With  a  slight  sensational  touch,  which 
is  pardonable.  Dr.  Farrar  says  upon  this  passage,  "  Were 
these  parchments  precious  rolls  of  Isaiah,  and  the  Psalms, 
and  the  lesser  prophets,  which  father  or  mother  had  given 
him  as  a  long-life  treasure  in  the  far-off  happy  days,  when 
little  dreaming  of  all  that  would  befall  him,  he  played,  a 
happy  boy,  in  the  dear  old  Tarsian  home  }  " 

Accepting  the  idea  that  he  refers  to  the  ancient  Scriptures, 
we  can'  easily  understand  how  he  accentuates  this  last  item 
of  his  three-fold  request :  "  But  especially  the  parchments." 
He  would  rather  have  God's  inspired  Word  than  all  other 
books  together.  He  would  prefer  to  bear  the  cold,  and 
to  miss  the  intellectual  stimulus  which  his  limited  library 
would  give  him,  to  be  deprived  any  longer  of  the  sacred 
oracles  of  God. 
We  do  not  need  this  reference  to  show  how  Paul  loved 


150  The  City  Youth, 

his  Bible.  His  epistles  are  steeped  in  the  lofty  inspirations 
of  Moses,  and  David,  and  Isaiah.  There  is  scarcely  one  of 
the  ancient  prophets  whom  he  does  not  quote.  He  was 
thoroughly  familiar  with  the  Jewish  Scriptures.  As  he  states 
in  the  previous  chapter,  he  believed  them  to  be  inspired  of 
God,  and  to  be  **  profitable  for  doctrine,  for  reproof,  for 
correction,  for  instruction  in  righteousness."  In  the  long 
and  dreary  hours  he  had  to  spend  in  that  Roman  dungeon, 
it  would  be  an  incomparable  solace  to  him  to  have  the 
companionship  of  those  "  holy  men  of  old,  who  spake  as 
they  were  moved  by  the  Holy  Ghost." 

My  dear  friends,  however  limited  be  your  reading,  see  that 
the  Bible  has  its  rightful  place.  It  is  said  that  in  the  British 
Museum  alone,  there  are  so  many  books  that  the  mere 
mechanical  reading  of  them  would  demand  a  thousand  years. 
So  you  cannot  read  everything — you  must  make  your  selec- 
tion ;  but  oh!  let  this  peerless  volume  reign  supreme  in  your 
library.  Let  it  be  the  monarch  of  your  bookshelves.  There 
is  an  old  Latin  proverb,  which  is  good  enough  so  long  as 
the  Bible  is  out  of  account,  "  Cave  ab  homine  iiniiis  libri'^ — 
i.e.,  "  Beware  of  a  man  of  one  book."  But  when  that  one 
book  is  the  Book  of  God,  the  counsel  may  be  inverted  ;  for 
there  is  no  man  more  to  be  sought  after  than  the  man  who 
daily  feeds  from  this  table,  and  drinks  from  this  well. 

"  Especially  the  parchments."  Let  no  general  reading, 
however  excellent  and  instructive,  elbow  this  to  one  side. 
Be  diligent  students  of  God's  Word,  "and,"  as  Dr.  Dodd- 
ridge said,  *'  you  shall  be  excellent  scholars  ten  thousand 
years  hence ; "  whereas,  however  proficient  in  secular  know- 
ledge, if  the  Bible  be  neglected,  you  shall  be  unfitted  for 
the  occupations  of  the  redeemed  in  heaven. 

Many  of  you  live  in  private  lodgings,  and  your  stock  of 
books  is  small ;  all  the  more  reason  that  it  should  be  select ; 
but  let  the  Bible  be  the  most  prominent  book  upon  your 


Cloak,  Books,  and  Parchments.  1 5  i 

table.  Let  its  conspicuous  presence  there  be  a  test  imony  to 
every  visitor  that  you  are  not  ashamed  of  your  colours,  and 
have  chosen  Scripture  to  be  '*  a  lamp  to  your  feet,  and  a  light 
to  your  path."  It  is  not  necessary  to  confine  it  to  your  bed- 
room or  parlour.  Thank  God,  there  is,  as  I  know,  many  an 
office  and  counting  house  in  the  city — and  I  might  add  many 
a  workshop  too — where  you  can  at  any  time  lay  your  hand 
upon  the  sacred  volume.  There  are  Christian  merchants, 
and  tradesmen,  and  artisans  who  keep  a  copy  ever  by  their 
side,  that  they  may  apply  to  it  for  counsel,  and  have  the 
stamp  of  its  sublime  teaching  upon  all  their  daily  employ. 

You  have  a  richer  Bible  than  ever  Paul  possessed.  Those 
clumsy,  greasy  **  parchments,"  written  by  laborious  scribes, 
would  form  a  strange  contrast  to  such  triumphs  of  modern 
skill  as  are  now  sent  out  in  millions  from  the  great 
repository  in  Queen  Victoria  Street ;  and  you  can  place  in 
your  waistcoat-pocket  treasures  of  inspiration,  which  in  the 
Apostle's  time  would  have  taxed  the  strength  of  a  man  to 
carry.  The  greater,  then,  your  responsibility.  Oh,  make 
good  use  of  your  Bibles  ! 

Above  all,  accept  without  delay  the  Divine  salvation  re- 
vealed. Let  all  be  right  now  between  your  souls  and  God. 
Do  not  put  off  for  a  single  day  the  most  momentous  of  all 
questions.  Dr.  Johnson  had  engraven  upon  his  watch  the 
motto,  "Epx^Tai  vvt^,  **  The  night  cometh,''  to  remind  him,  as 
often  as  he  inquired  of  it  the  time,  that  his  season  of  oppor- 
tunity was  slipping  away.  You  will  never  have  a  likelier 
season  than  the  present.  In  this  closing  hour,  this 
Sabbath  evening,  so  blessed  and  still,  when  everything  is 
so  favourable,  the  hymns  so  sweet,  the  Saviour  so  near,  the 
Spirit  so  earnest,  the  conscience  so  active,  the  heart  so 
tender,  eternity  so  awful,  God  so  urgent,  and  the  gate  of 
mercy  so  wide,  let  every  one  of  you  decide  for  a  Christian 
life ;  and  may  God  give  you  His  richest  blessing  !     Amer-. 


FORSAKING  EGYPT. 


'■^  By  faith  he  forsook  Egypt,  not  fearing  the  wrath  of  the  king :  Jor 
he  endured,  as  seeing  him  who  is  invisible  "—Hebrews  xi.  27. 


XI. 

FORSAKING  EGYPT, 

YOUNG  men  !  I  have  asked  you  to  meet  me  this 
evening,  that  I  may  point  out  to  you  the  secret  of  a 
happy,  noble,  and  successful  life.  I  always  look  forward 
with  special  interest  to  the  second  Sabbath  of  the  month, 
when  I  have  the  opportunity,  not  only  of  addressing  so 
-many  of  you  in  this  place,  but  (through  the  help  of  the 
press  and  your  hearty  co-operation)  of  speaking  words  of 
counsel  and  cheer  to  hundreds  outside  of  this  building, 
away  in  the  provinces,  and  in  Scotland,  and  in  the 
colonies,  and  in  distant  regions  of  the  earth. 

To-night  I  have  a  text  which  will  not  fail  to  interest  you. 
Probably  the  Jews  are  not  far  wrong  in  regarding  the  man 
to  whom  these  words  refer  as  the  greatest  personage  in  all 
history.  We  shall  grant,  at  least,  that  he  was  the  greatest 
in  Old  Testament  history.  I  remember,  when  visiting  the 
national  museum  at  Naples,  and  standing  in  the  corridor 
of  marble  sculptures,  surrounded  on  every  side  by  colossal 
forms  of  Zeno  and  Socrates,  and  Plato,  and  Sophocles, 
and  Homer,  and  hundreds  of  the  wise  and  great  of  other 
days,  it  seemed  as  though  I  were  transported  back  to  an 
earlier  age  ;  and  I  never  read  this  eleventh  chapter  of  the 
Hebrews  without  feeling  as  though  I  stood  in  a  gallery 
of  statuary,  and  were  gazing  on  the  sculptured  figures  of  a 
distinguished  group,  long  since  passed  into  the  heavens, 
of  whom  the  world  was  not  worthy."     The  first  form  that 


156  The   City   Youth, 

arrests  my  eye  is  that  of  a  young  man  standing  by  a  kind 
of  rude  altar,  with  an  innocent  lamb  by  his  side  :  and  I  say, 
"That  is  Abel."  Then,  a  little  to  the  right,  I  notice  a 
man  with  dignified  and  heavenly  mien,  apparently  holding 
close  communion  with  His  Maker:  and  I  say,  **  That  is 
Enoch."  A  few  steps  further,  and  I  see,  carved  in  ela- 
borate sculpture,  a  ship-builder  of  no  common  ambition, 
his  plans  and  his  tools  beside  him,  and  timber  for  such 
a  vessel  as  had  never  floated  on  the  sea:  "  Noah  !  "  I  at 
once  exclaim,  and  the  whole  story  of  the  Deluge  instantly 
flashes  before  my  mind.  And  so  I  walk  round  the 
gallery,  and  quickly  recognise  such  eminent  figures  as 
Abraham,  and  Jacob,  and  Gideon,  and  David,  and  Samuel, 
and  many  others  ;  but,  amongst  them  all,  there  is  not  one, 
perhaps,  to  compare  in  grandeur  of  character  with  him 
of  whom  my  text  tells  us,  that  "  by  faith  he  forsook  Egypt, 
not  fearing  the  wrath  of  the  king,  for  he  endured,  as 
seeing  Him  who  is  invisible." 

There  is  much  more  recorded  of  Moses  in  the  passage, 
but  we  need  not  go  beyond  these  w^ords,  which  tell  us  of 
his  escape  from  Egypt,  his  defiance  of  Pharaoh,  and  his 
fixing  his  eye  on  the  invisible  God.  *'  Which  things  are  an 
allegory ; "  and  my  purpose  to-night  is  to  show  you  that, 
by  following  (in  these  three  particulars)  his  noble  example, 
you  will  fulfil  the  grand  purpose  of  your  existence  here, 
and  secure  in  the  world  to  come  life  everlasting.  You 
must  each  of  you  forsake  Egypt,  bid  defiance  to  the  prince 
of  darkness,  and  fix  your  eye  on  the  invisible  God. 

I.  You  must  forsake  Egypt.  There  we  have  all  been 
born.  I  take  for  granted  you  understand  me.  For,  just 
as  Canaan  represents  the  state  of  rest  and  liberty  which 
we  enter  and  enjoy  when  we  become  the  people  of  God, 
so  Egypt  stands,  in  Scriptural  symbolism,  for  that  con- 
dition of  carnality  and  spiritual  bondage  in  which,  alas  1 


Forsaking  Egypt,  1 57 

we  all  are  by  nature.  Yes,  it  is  indeed  a  dark  picture 
that  is  usually  suggested  by  that  historic  land  wlicrc  the 
Pharaohs  reigned,  where  the  pyramids  of  Memphis  lift 
their  summits  to  the  sky,  and  where  the  sluggish  Nile 
from  its  seven  mouths  pours  its  waters  to  the  sea. 

When  I  say  we  are  natives  of  Egypt,  I  mean  that  w^e  are 
all  by  nature  in  a  state  from  which  it  is  necessary  to  escape, 
servants  of  the  flesh,  and  slaves  of  the  devil.  This  is  the 
two-fold  thought  which  **  Egypt "  expresses.  First,  a 
mere  fleshly  or  animal  existence.  Living  for  the  gratifica- 
tion of  our  lower  nature.  Asking  "  What  shall  we  eat  ?  " 
and  "  What  shall  we  drink  ?  "  and  "  What  clothes  shall 
we  wear  ?  "  and  "  What  worldly  delights  shall  we  enjoy  ?  " 

The  food  of  Egypt  was  not  only  plentiful,  but  it  was 
gross  and  stimulating.  It  pampered  the  body.  It  inflamed 
the  passions.  "  There,"  said  some  of  the  coarser  spirits, 
as  they  smacked  their  lips,  **  we  sat  by  the  flesh-pots,  and 
did  eat  bread  to  the  full.  We  remember  the  fish,  which 
we  did  eat  in  Egypt  freely ;  the  cucumbers,  and  the 
melons,  and  the  leeks,  and  the  onions,  and  the  garlic." 
Apparently,  they  thought  of  nothing  higher,  made  a  god 
of  their  belly,  gloried  in  their  shame,  and  minded  earthly 
things.  To  gratify  the  lower  wants  of  their  being 
seemed  to  be  really  their  main  object  in  life.  Now,  this 
is  substantially  the  condition  of  all  men  till  they  are  born 
from  above.  Our  whole  life  prior  to  conversion  is  de- 
scribed in  the  Bible  as  a  **  living  to  the  flesh."  There  may 
be,  and  we  know  there  are,  vast  differences  and  degrees ; 
but,  as  St.  Paul  says,  including  himself  in  the  number,  ^ 
"  w^e  all  had  our  conversation  in  times  past,"  or  (as  the 
Revised  Version  has  it),  **  we  all  once  lived  in  the  lusts 
of  our  flesh,  doing  the  desires  of  the  flesh  and  of  the 
mind  ;  and  were  by  nature  children  of  wrath,  even  as 
others." 


158  The  City   Youth. 

To  yo'ing  men,  Egypt,  in  this  sense,  often  presents 
special  charms.  The  power  of  sin  lies  in  its  pleasure.  It 
is  useless,  it  is  silly  to  deny  that,  in  the  indulgence  of  our 
sensual  appetites,  there  is  no  gratification.  It  is  just  the 
I  vehemence  of  the  temptation  that  tries  what  grit  of  right 
principle  a  man  has  in  him. 

But  then,  remember,  the  pleasures  of  the  sensualist  are 
the  preludes  of  a  misery  that  words  cannot  paint.  Ah  ! 
you  may  talk  of  the  hilarity  of  the  wine  cup,  the  merriment 
of  gay  society,  the  rare  enjoyment  to  be  found  around  a 
gambling-table,  or  in  the  company  of  her  ''whose  house  is 
the  way  to  hell,  going  down  to  the  chambers  of  death  ;  " 
but  well  you  may  know  of  all  such  pleasure,  that  by-and-by 
"it  biteth  like  a  serpent,  it  stingeth  like  an  adder."  "If 
ye  live  after  the  flesh,''  says  St.  Paul,  "  ye  shall  die." 

There  was  a  young  medical  student  who  went  out  to  pro- 
secute his  studies  in  Paris.  He  caught  the  moral  infection 
of  its  licentiousness  and  infidelity.  There  was  an  inward 
struggle  between  the  conscience  and  the  flesh.  "  Shall 
I  forsake  Egypt  ?"  was  the  question.  The  flesh  prevailed, 
and  he  said  "No."  Here  are  his  very  words :  "I  know 
that  I  can  enjoy  life  in  my  own  way  about  so  many  years. 
I  shall  parcel  out  my  money  to  last  so  long  a  time,  and  no 
longer.  When  my  time  is  up,  my  revolver  shall  end  all." 
His  prediction  was  but  too  true;  and  when,  within  but  a 
few  years,  his  pale  and  breathless  form  was  one  day  found 
lying  in  hi.  own  blood,  one  could  almost  have  believed 
that  a  voice  was  whispering,  "The  way  of  transgressors  is 
hard."  The  great  thing  which  a  young  man  needs  in  a 
crisis  of  temptation,  is  instant  decision  for  the  right.  If 
you  tamper  and  hesitate,  the  game  is  half  lost.  Leave  no 
time  for  temptation  to  accumulate.  "  Forsake  Egypt." 
You  must  surely  have  noticed  that,  in  relation  to  all  sins 
of  this  character — sins  of  the  flesh— St.  Paul's  counsel  is, 


Forsaking  Egypt,  159 

**  Flee  !  *'  Take  to  your  heels.  It  may  seem  like  coward- 
ice, but  it  is  true  heroism.  *'  Flee  youthful  lusts."  Like 
Joseph,  hasten  instantly  out  of  the  way  of  the  tempter  ; 
saying,  as  Moses  did  to  Pharaoh,  **  Thou  shalt  see  my  face 
no  more ! " 

But,  secondly,  it  is  also  a  state  of  bondage.  It  is  slavery 
of  the  worst  kind.  Till  you  become  a  Christian,  my 
brother,  your  life  is  just  a  toiling  endeavour,  under  the 
worst  of  taskmasters,  to  "  make  bricks  without  straw,"  to 
prepare  the  materials  of  satisfaction  w^ithout  any  of  the 
elements  that  are  indispensable.  The  giddy  youth,  who 
tosses  his  head  like  a  wild  horse,  and  talks  of  his  **  free 
life,"  is  about  the  greatest  slave  upon  God's  earth.  *'  We 
be  Abraham's  children,"  said  the  Jews  to  Christ,  "  and 
were  never  in  bondage  to  any  man ;  how  sayest  thou  then, 
ye  must  be  made  free  }  "  Ah  !  replies  Jesus,  it  is  the  truth 
that  makes  free. 

'*  He  is  the  freeman  whom  the  truth  makes  free, 
And  all  are  slaves  beside." 

Can  a  man,  think  you,  be  called  free,  merely  because  he 
is  not  the  inmate  of  a  prison,  because  his  limbs  are  not 
bound  with  chains  of  iron  1  Ah !  you  know  better  than 
that.  You  know  that  there  may  be  more  freedom,  in  its 
highest  sense,  with  the  poor  African  slave,  than  with  the 
wretched  tyrant  who  holds  the  lash  over  him.  There  are 
fetters  of  the  soul,  moral  chains,  forged  of  such  material, 
and  riveted  with  such  strength,  that  he  who  wears  them, 
though  his  comrades  call  him  a  free  lance,  and  a  dashing 
blade,  is  unspeakably  more  a  bondman  than  the  convict 
in  his  cell.  There  is  no  greater  slavery  than  that  of  the 
man  over  whom  his  own  passions  and  vile  habits  domineer. 
Can  he  be  called  his  own  master  who  is  always  at  the 
bidding  of  some  imperious  lust,  or  ungovernable  appetite  } 
Do  you  call  that  man  free,  for  example,  who  lately  came 


i6o  The  City  Youth. 

to  my  door,  and  in  desperation  asked  me  what  was  to  be 
done,  because  no  power  on  earth  could  keep  him  back 
from  drink  ?  It  is  idle  to  talk  of  liberty  whilst  you  are 
the  servants  of  the  devil.  If  you  spare  sin,  it  will  not 
spare  you.  You  may  cross  seas  and  mountains  to  reach 
a  land  of  freedom,  but,  if  you  have  not  been  emancipated 
from  sin,  your  prison  is  everywhere,  and  nothing  but  the 
grace  of  God,  and  your  hearty  acceptance  of  the  Gospel 
of  Christ,  can  dash  these  shackles  from  off  your  limbs,  and 
send  you  forth  into  the  joyous  freedom  of  which  David's 
cxhilarant  soul  was  conscious  when  he  exclaimed,  "  I  will 
walk  at  liberty,  because  I  keep  Thy  statutes." 

II.  Yoii  must  defy  the  prince  of  dai-hiess.  What  cared 
Moses  for  the  threats  of  Pharaoh,  when  he  knew  that 
he  was  obeying  the  voice  of  God  ?  What  mattered  it 
to  him,  though  the  Egyptian  despot  raged  and  fumed, 
and  menaced  him  with  all  sorts  of  evil  ?  His  mind  was 
made  up,  to  follow  the  bidding  he  received  from  above. 
God  and  his  own  conscience  were  to  decide  his  course. 
The  fact  is,  Pharaoh  feared  Moses  more  than  IMoses 
feared  Pharaoh.  Gentlemen,  believe  me,  this  moral 
courage  is  one  of  the  grandest  endowments  a  young  man 
can  possess.  Through  want  of  it  many  fall  and  fail.  Very 
varied  are  the  forms  in  which  the  prince  of  darkness  pre- 
sents himself,  and  deters  you  from  forsaking  Egypt. 
There  are  thousands  of  young  persons  who  are  more  tiian 
half-inclined  to  become  Christians,  but  are  kept  back  from 
a  full  decision  by  certain  fears  that  stand  in  their  \va\-. 
How  many,  for  example,  are  in  mortal  dread  of  being 
laughed  at,  ridiculed  ("chaffed,"  I  believe,  is  the  wortl) 
by  their  ungodly  associates  }  In  the  same  office,  or  shop, 
or  house  of  business,  there  are  coarse  fellows  who  haven't 
a  serious  thought,  and  who  take  delight  in  flinging  their 
vulgar  banter  and  derision  on  everything  religious.     It  is 


Forsaking  Egypt.  l6i 

no  easy  matter  to  stand  such  jeers.  In  fact,  most  of  us 
would  much  rather  encounter  fierce  opposition  than  that 
silly,  empty  ridicule.  It  tries  the  temper.  It  stirs  up  all 
the  evil  that  is  in  you.  It  puts  your  principles  to  the 
proof.  It  was  an  Irishman,  I  believe,  who  said,  "  he 
would  rather  meet  the  devil  to  his  face  once  a  week,  than 
have  these  petty  daily  attacks  upon  his  religion  ;  an  angel 
could  not  stand  that."  There  is  nothing  more  hard  to 
bear  than  reproach,  in  whatever  form  it  comes.  I  have 
often  thought  it  a  remarkable  expression  that  is  used  in 
reference  to  Moses,  in  the  verse  before  our  text,  that  he 
**  esteemed  the  reproach  of  Christ  greater  riches  than  the 
treasures  of  Egypt."  Moses,  then,  had  to  bear  reproach 
for  the  sake  of  Christ,  and  he  bore  it  gladly.  Like  the 
apostles  in  after  ages,  he  **  rejoiced  that  he  was  counted 
worthy  to  suffer  shame  for  his  name."  Old  John  Trapp 
has  a  quaint  remark  somewhere,  to  the  effect  that  if  we 
can  bear  taunts  and  jeers  for  Christ's  sake,  it  argues  we 
mean  to  stick  to  Him  ;  just  as  among  the  Jews,  by  IMoses' 
law,  the  servant  that  was  content  to  be  "  bored  in  the  ear 
with  an  awl,"  signified  that  nothing  would  tempt  him  away 
from  his  master.  Whenever  you  are  chaffed  or  ridiculed 
for  your  religion,  then,  just  think  that  if  you  can  endure 
such  "  boring,"  it  speaks  well  for  your  attachment  to 
Christ.  The  late  Dr.  George  Wilson,  of  Edinburgh,  used 
to  speak  with  admiration  of  the  stern  moral  courage  of 
the  ancient  Athanasius,  who,  when  told  that  the  whole 
world  was  against  him,  simply  replied,  "  Then  I  am 
against  the  world."  Wilson  was  not  much  of  a  poet,  but 
he  sometimes  tried  his  hand  at  it. 

**  Yes,  I  do  honour  thee  for  those  brave  words, 
Against  the  heretic  so  boldly  hurled  ; 
*  Though  no  one  else  believe,  Til  hold  my  faith, 
I,  Athanasius,  against  tlie  world.' 

II 


1 62  The  City  Youth, 

Thy  faith  is  mine  (but  that  is  not  my  theme) ; 

'Tis  thine  example  I  would  preach  to  all ; 
Whatever  each  believes  and  counts  for  true, 

Of  things  in  heaven  or  earth,  or  great  or  small. 

If  he  believes  it,  let  him  stand,  and  say, 

Although  in  scorn  a  thousand  lips  are  curled, 

Though  no  one  else  believe,  I  hold  my  faith, 
Like  Athanasius,  against  the  world." 

Then,  some  are  deterred  from  a  decided  Christian  life  by 
the  dread  of  the  inward  conflict  they  will  have,  as  they 
think,  to  undergo  ;  the  bitterness  of  true  repentance  ;  by 
the  thought  of  the  sinful  pleasures  they  must  forego,  the 
giddy  company  they  must  abandon,  and  the  responsibilities 
they  must  assume.  Not  a  few  are  frightened  away  from 
personal  religion  by  the  idea  that,  if  they  become  Chris- 
tians, they  must  give  up  all  kinds  of  social  enjoyment ;  no 
more  must  they  laugh,  or  sing,  or  make  merry  ;  henceforth 
their  life  must  be  as  solemn  as  a  funeral  dirge.  Others 
have  frankly  "told  me,  that  the  reason  they  keep  aloof,  is, 
that  it  is  now  impossible  for  them  to  shake  themselves 
loose  from  certain  habits  that  would  be  inconsistent  with 
a  life  of  piety.  **  I  forsake  Egypt !  1  become  a  devout 
believer,  and  live  a  holy  life  !  The  thing  is  impossible. 
My  habits  are  too  confirmed,  my  feelings  too  blunted ;  the 
enemy  has  got  too  strong  a  hold  upon  me  for  that. ' 

These  are  a  few  of  the  bugbears  with  which  the  devil 
seeks  to  frighten  you  !  Oh,  my  friend  !  come  away  out  of 
Egypt  at  once,  and  do  not  *'  fear  the  wrath  of  the  king." 
Ninety-nine  reasons  out  of  every  hundred  that  frighten 
people  against  religion  are  utterly  false  and  baseless. 
Christ's  is  not  a  hard  hand,  nor  a  sour  and  gloomy  face. 
To  become  a  believer  is  to  come  into  the  land  of  glad- 
some sunshine  and  of  glorious  liberty.  If  you  have 
served  the  devil  for  twenty  years,  don't  serve  him  a  day 
longer.     God's  grace    is   all-sufficient.     Satan    has  not   a 


Forsaking  Egypt,  163 

chain  which  that  grace  cannot  snap  in  a  moment.  There 
is  not  a  vice  that  has  got  hold  of  you  which  you  may  not 
completely  conquer.  The  devil  is  a  hard  master,  and  will 
not  let  you  go  if  he  can  help  it ;  but  God  is  stronger  than 
he  ;  so  come  away,  come  away,  "  not  fearing  the  wrath  of 
the  king." 

III.  Lastly,  you  must  fix  your  eye  on  the  unseen  God. 
You  must  **  endure  as  seeing  Him  who  is  invisible." 
**  Behold,"  says  St.  James,  *'  we  count  them  happy  which 
endure."  And  well  may  we  do  so,  when  we  think  of  the 
many  and  glorious  promises  made  to  them.  **  Blessed  is 
the  man  that  endureth  temptation ;  for  when  he  is  tried 
he  shall  receive  the  crown  of  life  : "  *'  He  that  endureth 
to  the  end  shall  be  saved." 

Now  the  secret  of  this  Christian  steadfastness  and  perse- 
verance is  given  us  here,  and  given  in  very  remarkable  words. 
As  St.  Paul  told  the  Christians  at  Corinth,  we  are  to  **  look 
at  the  things  that  are  not  seen."  The  most  important  hour 
in  a  man's  history  is  that  in  which  he  acquires  this  new, 
this  spiritual  faculty.  The  great  mass  of  men,  and  all  men 
until  they  receive  the  Spirit  of  God,  are  blind  to  spiritual 
things.  They  can  only  look  on  things  that  are  seen. 
They  are  living  wholly  in  a  world  of  sense  and  sight. 
They  are  dealing  only  with  the  tangible  and  material, 
with  things  that  can  be  touched  and  handled  ;  but  have 
no  discernment  of  things  that  are  beyond  the  range  of 
bodily  vision.  Oh,  I  would  like  you  to  think  of  this  ;  for 
it  is  no  breach  of  charity  to  suppose  that  some  here  are 
still  living  on  this  lower  plane.  Your  minds  are  entirely 
occupied  with  the  visible  and  the  concrete  ;  with  matters 
of  the  shop,  the  office,  or  the  household ;  with  your 
stock-in-trade ;  with  buying  and  selling,  lending  and 
borrowing,  bargaining  and  investing  ;  with  pounds,  shil- 
lings,  and   pence ;  with    bonds,   and   shares,   and    deben- 


164  The  City  Youth, 

tures ;  with  pound  weights  and  pint  measures ;  with 
wubs  of  cloth,  and  reams  of  paper,  and  bags  of  rice,  and 
boxes  of  tea,  and  casks  of  sugar,  and  waggons  of  coal ; 
with  accounts,  and  invoices,  and  bills,  and  bank-books, 
and  ledgers ;  with  food,  and  drink,  and  clothing :  and 
when  you  sum  up  these,  you  sum  up  all  you  are  dealing 
with ;  from  day  to  day,  from  week  to  week,  from  month 
to  month,  looking  only  to  what  is  "  seen  and  temporal," 
devoting  the  powers  of  an  immortal  soul  to  the  interests 
of  a  material  and  dying  world,  with  the  almost  certainty 
of  continuing  so  to  do  till  fever  or  paralysis  throw  you  on 
your  back,  and  you  wake  up,  too  late,  to  discover  that 
your  soul  has  never  pierced  through  the  veil  of  flesh,  and 
•  gazed  on  **  Him  who  is  invisible  !  " 

Ah  1  you  will  never  "  endure "  with  a  life  like  that ! 
'*  Can  thine  heart  endure,  saith  the  Lord,  or  can  thine 
hands  be  strong,  in  the  day  that  1  shall  deal  with  thee?" 
Thank  God,  some  of  you  have  had  your  eye«  opened  to  a  new 
world  altogether.  You  can  say,  "  One  thmg  I  know,  that 
whereas  I  was  blind,  now  I  see."  By  far  the  most  moment- 
ous period  in  one's  history  is  the  time  when  this  change 
takes  place  ;  when  from  living  wholly  for  the  flesh,  and  for 
the  world,  you  begin  to  live  for  the  invisible  and  eternal. 

In  the  diary  of  the  late  Charles  Kingsley  I  find  the 
following  entry,  written  when  he  was  quite  a  young  man. 
"June  1 2th. — I  have  been  .for  the  last  hour  on  the 
seashore,  not  dreaming,  but  thinking  deeply  and  strongly, 
and  forming  determinations  which  are  to  aff'ect  my  destiny 
through  time  and  through  eternity.  Before  the  sleeping 
earth,  and  the  sleepless  sea  and  stars,  I  have  devoted 
myself  to  God ;  a  vow  never  (if  He  gives  me  the  faith  I 
pray  for)  to  be  recalled."  Those  of  you  who  have  made 
this  act  of  self-consecration,  must  feel  that  life  now  becomes 
a  far  nobler  and   sublimer  thing  than  ever  it  was  before. 


ForsaJzing  Egypt,  165 

Even  the  simplest  mind  is  raised  and   expanded,  by  con- 
verse with  eternity,  and  fellowship  with  God. 

But,  your  contemplation  of  the  invisible  must  not  be 
a  mere  abstract  dreamy  devotion,  a  waiting  afar  off  on 
Heaven's  eternal  glorious  King.  There  must  be  a  personal 
surrender  of  yourselves  to  God,  founded  upon  a  living  and 
intelligent  faith.  I  do  earnestly  recommend  every  one  of 
you,  within  whose  heart  there  glows  a  ray  of  Christian  hope, 
to  take  a  sheet  of  paper,  and  write  down  with  ink  and  pen, 
in  your  own  simple  words,  the  truths  on  which  that  hope 
is  based.  Try,  in  your  own  natural  language,  to  formulate 
your  creed.  Don't  copy  from  a  book,  not  even  from  the 
Bible  ;  but,  just  in  the  most  artless  way,  make  a  statement 
of  your  Christian  faith.  You  will  find  this  eminently  useful. 
It  will  give  clearness  and  crispness  to  your  belief.  It  will 
inspire  you  with  confidence  and  courage.  David  JMalcolm 
was  a  young  man  of  twenty-one,  who  was  deeply  impressed 
under  the  preaching  of  McCheyne  of  Dundee,  and,  as  his 
subsequent  life  proved,  became  a  true  Christian.  That  he 
might  clearly  realise  his  own  doctrinal  position,  and  be 
able  to  resist  the  prevailing  currents  of  error,  he  wrote  out 
a  statement  of  his  belief,  in  these  words :  "  I  believe  in 
God  the  Father,  God  the  Son,  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost, 
each  carrying  on  His  work,  not  separated,  not  divided.  I 
believe  these  three  constitute  the  Godhead.  I  believe  in 
the  Father  as  the  Creator,  in  the  Son  as  the  Redeemer, 
and  in  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  Sanctifier.  I  believe  in  the 
IIt)ly  Bible,. and  in  the  counsels  of  eternity.  I  believe  in 
G-)d's  foreknowledge,  predestination,  sovereignty,  and  I 
believe  in  His  electing  love,  through  the  meritorious  death 
of  His  Son.  I  believe  that  Jesus  commissioned  His  apostles 
to  go  into  all  the  world,  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every 
creature  ;  and  now  I  have  His  declaration,  calling  upon 
me  to  believe  and  live.     I  believe  in  the  everlasting  joy 


1 66  The  City  Youth. 

and  felicity  of  the  redeemed,  and  in  the  endless  perdition 
of  the  unsaved.     D.  M." 

He  was  but  an  artisan,  but  his  creed  was  manly  and 
clear :  he  found  it  enough  to  live  upon,  enough  to  die 
upon.  He  met  his  death  by  accident :  caught  by  some 
revolving  machinery,  he  was  fatally  injured,  called  very 
suddenly  to  face  eternity;  but  "  he  endured,"  he  knew  no 
fear,  his  spirit,  rejoicing,  passed  within  the  veil. 

How  many  of  you,  wken  you  reach  home  to-night, 
could  sit  down  and  write  out  in  a  few  lines  your  creed,  the 
truths  on  which  you  rest  your  hopes  for  eternity.?  It 
never  can  be  right  with  you  till  you  are  able  to  do  this. 
A  man  whose  business  affairs  are  all  in  a  muddle  will 
never  be  a  successful  man  ;  and  it  is  just  as  true,  that  if 
the  interests  of  your  soul  are  all  in  a  muddle,  there  is  little 
hope  of  your  wearing  the  eternal  crown.  Oh,  clear  up  the 
whole  matter  now  ;  come  and  get  salvation  on  God's  terms. 
Turn  your  back  on  Egypt,  and  your  face  toward  Canaan  ; 
and  keep  your  eye  fixed  on  Him  who  is  invisible.  So  shall 
you  endure  to  the  end,  and,  enduring  to  the  end,  shall  be 
saved .     Amen. 


MEN   OF   THE    WORLD, 


*^ Men  of  the  worlds  which   have  their  portion  in  this  hfe»^-» 
Psalm  xvii.  14. 


XII. 

MEN  OF  THE    WORLD, 

TO  every  young  man  there  comes,  sooner  or  later,  the 
brief  but  startling  message  which  God  addressed  to 
Abraham  when  he  was  in  Ur  of  the  Chaldees — **  Get  thee 
out  of  thy  country,  and  from  thy  kindred,  and  from  thy 
father's  house,  unto  a  land  that  I  will  show  thee."  You 
cannot  always  abide  in  the  home  of  your  childhood.  Dear 
as  the  old  paternal  dwelling  may  be,  and  fragrant  with 
the  sweetest  memories,  the  time  comes  when  you  mu*st 
bid  it  "good-bye,"  and  set  forth  to  push  your  own  way 
through  the  w^orld.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  period  in  our 
history  more  solemn  and  important  than  the  day  when  we 
pass  the  threshold  of  the  home  which  has  sheltered  and 
nourished  our  infancy,  and  fairly  embark  on  the  cares  and 
responsibilities,  the  doubts  and  difficulties,  the  temptations 
and  trials,  of  active  life.  It  is  a  serious  time  for  every  one. 
Thank  God  for  the  buoyancy  of  youth.  Thank  God 
for  the  tendency  to  look  on  the  bright  side  of  things,  and 
to  paint  the  future  with  fair  and  pleasing  colours.  But  it 
gives  no  good  promise  of  a  young  man's  career  when  he 
trips  gaily  and  lightly  away  from  under  the  paternal  roof- 
tree,  and  talks  of  that  step  as  though  it  were  an  escape 
and  an  emancipation.  Apart  from  the  sundering  of 
domestic  ties — and  a  man  is  not  a  man  if  he  has  no 
heart — it  is  a  momentous  business,  this  embarking  upon 
life.  It  is  terribly  real.  It  is  no  occasion  for  nonsense 
and  frivolity.     Many  a  proud  crest  must  be  shorn,  many 


170  The  City  Youth, 

a  good  sword  shivered,  before  those  who  rush  so  nimbly 
into  the  battle-field  shall  come  forth  with  the  spoils  of 
victory.  Every  young  man  entering  upon  life  carries  with 
him  a  certain  force  or  momentum,  and  upon  the  direction 
that  is  given  to  that  force  depends  his  future  career  and 
happiness. 

When  two  friends  were  one  day  visiting  Mr.  Boulton's 
steam-engine  manufactory  at  Birmingham,  that  gentleman 
met  them  at  the  entrance,  and  said,  "  I  sell  here  what 
everybody  is  desirous  of  possessing — powers  Now  the 
energy  of  youth  is  power.  Power,  when  rightly  used,  to 
accomplish  incalculable  good  ;  but  when  misapplied,  to 
work  immeasurable  evil. 

You  cannot  sufficiently  remember  that  "  entering  upon 
life"  means  vastly  more  than  mere  "commencing  busi- 
ness." The  two  expressions  are  often  used  as  if  they  were 
synonymous.  But,  in  launching  forth  upon  the  responsi- 
bilities of  life,  you  have  something  more  to  attend  to  than 
worldly  business — something  more  to  acquire  than  money. 
You  are  giving  shape  to  your  whole  future  destiny.  You 
are  stamping  your  character  for  eternity.  You  are  deter- 
mining the  career  of  an  immortal  spirit.  The  grand 
mistake  which,  I  fear,  the  mass  of  young  men  make  at  the 
outset  is  this — they  think  only  of  the  present  world  ;  they 
aim  at  securing  "  a  portion  for  this  life,"  but  leave  the  next 
life  all  unprovided  for.  Am  I  not  right  in  saying  that 
this  is  the  case  with  a  vast  majority  }  A  dear,  thoughtful 
young  fellow,  who  is  in  a  house  of  business  in  the  city, 
comes  to  me  for  a  little  conversation  ;  he  tells  me  of  his 
religious  difficulties,  of  his  inward  conflicts  and  struggles, 
and  his  desire  to  live  a  Christian  life  ;  and  ere  we  part 
I  say  to  him,  "  Now,  how  many  in  your  establishment 
seem  to  be  at  all  seriously  inclined  }  "  How  many  in 
that  huge  drapery  business  ?     How  many  in  that  bank  } 


Men  of  the   World,  1 7  i 

How  many  in  that  workshop  ?  Ten  to  one  his  reply  is, 
•'  There  is  just  one  I  know  of  that  is  a  real  Christian  ;  " 
or  *'  Just  two  or  three  that  take  any  interest  in  these 
things."  Ah!  it  is  the  old  story;  as  Jesus  said  of  the 
strait  gate,  *'  few  there  be  that  find  it."  J\Ien  of  God, 
that  have  their  portion  in  heaven,  are  rare  and  hard  to 
find ;  on  every  side  you  are  elbowed  and  crowded  by 
**  men  of  the  world,  which  have  their  portion  in  this  life." 
I  look  you  straight  in  the  face,  my  brothers,  and  ask,  *'  To 
which  group  do  you  wish  to  belong  }  '*  If  to  the  latter, 
I  don't  know  what  brought  you  here,  nor  have  I  any 
message  for  you ;  if  to  the  former,  I  hope  to  say  a  few 
words  that  will  cheer  and  help  you  on  your  way. 

If  you  are  told  of  such  and  such  a  person,  that  he  is  **  a 
man  of  the  world,"  what  do  you  understand  by  the  ex- 
pression }  What  impression  does  it  leave  on  your  mind  } 
If  it  is  intended  to  mean,  merely,  that  he  is  a  man  of 
peculiar  sagacity,  one  who  knows  what  he  is  about,  who 
is  thoroughly  wide-awake,  and  up  to  business,  I  have 
nothing  to  say  against  such  a  character ;  the  parable  we 
were  reading "'''  shows  that  such  shrewdness  is  rather  to  be 
**  commended ;  "  but  I  think  the  general  purport  of  the 
expression  will  be  allowed  to  be  that  which  is  evidently 
David's  meaning  in  the  text,  a  man  who  has  no  spiritual 
yearnings,  no  holy  aspirations ;  a  mere  earthworm,  selfish, 
sordid,  and  greedy  of  gain ;  whose  supreme  or  only 
thought  is  to  make  money,  and  have  his  nest  well-feathered 
here.  From  such  a  character,  may  you  all  join  with  the 
Psalmist  in  praying,  **  Good  Lord,  deliver  us."  ' 

I  have  two  things  to  speak  about  to-night,  as  suggested 
by  the  contrast  in  the  text : — ist,  Men  of  the  world,  and 
their  portion  ;  2nd,  The  man  of  God,  and  his. 

*  Luke  xvi.  i-i2. 


172  The  City   Youth, 

I.  ThiiiTi  of  the  p07iio7i  ivhich  belongs  to  men  of  the  world. — 
There  is  not  a  greater  mistake  than  to  imagine  that  you 
will  be  heart-rich  as  soon  as  you  become  purse-rich.  **  Oh," 
thinks  one,  "  if  my  salary  were  only  at  such  a  figure  ;  if  I 
had  so  much  money  safely  invested ;  if  I  could  but  jump 
into  that  splendid  vacant  situation,  wouldn't  I  be  jolly  ;  my 
cup  of  happiness  would  be  full  1 "  Now  I  have  to  tell  you, 
not  on  my  own  authority,  but  on  the  authority  of  Scripture, 
backed  by  the  experience  and  testimony  of  myriads,  that 
that  calculation  is  utterly  wrong.  You  may  be  a  thousand 
times  more  wealthy  than  you  are  to-day,  and — a  thousand 
times  more  miserable.  I  am  not  saying  a  word  against 
wealth  in  itself;  were  I  to  do  so,  I  should  be  a  fool ;  but 
against  the  notion  which  says,  **  Give  me  money,  and 
happiness  follows  as  a  matter  of  course."  There  is  no 
truth  I  could  more  easily  confirm,  by  endless  illustrations 
from  real  life,  than  this,  that,  as  the  Bible  says,  ''  A  man's 
life  consisteth  not  in  the  abundance  of  the  things  which  he 
possesseth."  There  is  many  a  Midas  in  this  city  to-day, 
at  whose  touch  everything  seems  to  turn  into  gold,  who 
would  frankly  tell  you  he  had  a  far  lighter  heart,  when,  as 
a  young  clerk,  he  was  earning  /^6o  or  £%q  a  year.  The 
wealthy  Sir  Charles  Flower  only  spoke  for  many  a  rich  man 
like  himself,  when,  to  a  beggar,  who  asked  him  for  money 
to  get  a  piece  of  bread,  he  said,  "  I  would  gladly  give  you 
a  sovereign,  if  you  would  give  me  vour  appetite."  The  old 
dissipated  Marquis  of  Queensberry  would  sit  yonder  in  his 
fine  house  at  Twickenham,  and,  looking  out  on  the  Thames, 
murmuring  so  pleasantly  along,  could  only  say,  '*  I  am  sick 
of  hearing  people  praise  tha<-  eternal  river  ;  it  does  nothing 
but  flow,  flow,  flow."  Rir'  do  make  happy  ;  but  it  is 
not  the  riches  of  the  po  at  the  riches  of  the  mind 

and  heart.     The  riches  of  taste,   of  culture,  of  affection, 
and,  above  all,  the   riches  of  God's  grace,  which  impart 


Men  of  the   World,  173 

capacities  of  deep  and  intense  enjoyment,  otherwise  un- 
known. 

Although  every  age  has  had  its  philosophers  and  its 
moralists,  proclaiming  that  money  wull  not  bring  happiness, 
it  is  as  little  believed  to-day  as  ever  it  was.  Men 
read  it  in  their  Bibles  on  Sunday,  and  hear  it  from  the 
pulpit,  and  inwardly  feel  it  to  be  true  ;  but  on  Monday 
morning,  as  they  walk  through  the  City,  they  nudge  one 
another,  and  say  with  a  merry  twinkle,  **  Deceitful  thing — 
riches  !  dangerous  thing — money  1  Very  !  "  and  off  they 
go  to  see  how  smart  they  can  be,  and  how  thoroughly  they 
can  banish  every  other  thought  from  their  mind.  It  is  a 
very  solemn  thought  for  any  of  you  who  are  mere  '*  men 
of  the  world,"  that,  though  you  should  be  ever  so  success- 
ful, though  your  gains  indeed  should  be  far  beyond  your 
expectation,  what  you  have  got  is  only  "  a  portion  for  this 
life."  You  are  not  endowed — to  the  extent  of  a  single 
farthing — for  the  life  that  is  on  the  other  side  of  the  grave. 
You  cannot  carry  your  gold  there,  nor  your  shares,  and 
bonds,  and  furniture,  and  shops,  and  warehouses.  All,  all 
must  be  left  behind  !  It  is  a  fine  "  portion"  indeed  ;  but 
only  for  **  this  life  !  "  The  hour  is  not  distant  when  it  will 
be  divided  amongst  others  ;  and  you 

**  Shall  have  no  share  in  all  that's  done 
Beneath  the  circuit  of  the  sun." 

I  have  often  in  the  country  been  amused  at  observing  the 
dismay  of  the  farm-yard  hen,  when,  after  having  brought 
up  a  brood  of  aquatic  fowls,  the  young  ducklings  plunge 
with  plashing  into  the  water,  and  leave  their  foster-mother 
on  the  bank.  It  is  well  known,  that  if  a  quail  or  partridge 
sit  upon  the  eggs  of  another  species  of  bird,  the  young,  as 
soon  as  their  wings  are  formed,  and  they  have  a  chance, 
will  fly  away  and  assort  with  their  own  species.  And 
when  Jeremiah  looked  upon   that  sight,   he  just   saw  a 


174  The  City   Youth, 

picture  of  the  way  in  which  men  of  the  world  are  treated 
by  the  riches  that  they  have  hugged  and  fostered.  **  As 
the  partridge  sitteth  on  eggs,  and  hatcheth  them  not  (that 
is,  for  herself),  so  he  that  getteth  riches,  and  not  by  right, 
shall  leave  them  in  the  midst  of  his  days,  and  at  his  end 
shall  be  a  fool." 

Man  of  the  world,  think  of  all  the  earthly  things  you 
have  that  give  you  satisfaction  ;  make  up  the  inventory  ; 
call  it,  when  complete,  your  *'  portion  in  this  life  ;  "  and 
then  tick  oft'  each  particular,  and  say,  **  This,  this,  this 
must  be  left  behind."  "  For  we  brought  nothing  into 
this  world,"  saith  Scripture,  "  and  it  is  certain  we  can 
carry  nothing  out."  That  is,  nothing  material,  nothing 
earthly.  Those  of  us  who  are  Christians  will  carry  a 
great  deal  out  with  us  when  we  are  launched  into  eternity, 
because  all  the  spiritual  riches  we  possess  remain  good  at 
the  gate  of  the  grave,  and  indeed  are  only  the  tiny  seeds 
of  what  shall  prove  an  ever-enlarging  harvest ;  but  death 
is  a  strainer  which  holds  back  every  mere  material  posses- 
sion ;  and  if  this  has  been  our  only  wealth,  we  wake  up 
beggared  for  eternity  ! 

But  it  is  more  than  this  I  am  now  wishing  to  impress 
on  you ;  even  as  regards  the  present  life — and  not 
taking  our  future  being  into  account  at  all — men  of  the 
world  find  their  portion  insufficient  to  m:.ke  them  happy. 
If  a  splendid  demesne  and  a  princely  income  are  enough 
to  banish  sadness,  who  more  to  be  envied  than  the 
proprietor  of  Chatsworth  ?  Situated  amid  the  romantic 
scenery  of  the  Peak,  environed  with  parks  that  almost 
equal  one  of  the  smaller  counties  in  extent,  watered  by 
a  beautiful  river,  surrounded  by  magnificent  prospects, 
and  enriched  with  historical  associations,  it  is  probably 
one  of  the  finest  residences  in  the  world.  Everything 
tliat  imagination  could  invent,  or  wealth  supply,  has  been 


Iilen  of  the   World.  175 

provided  to  add  to  the  comfort  of  its  occupant.  Yet, 
what  is  that  I  read,  as  I  walk  up  the  entrance-hall  of 
this  Aladdin-like  palace  ?  On  a  small  tablet,  engraven  in 
Latin,  is  the  touching  inscription,  **  I  finished  it  in  my 
year  of  sorrow." 

"  I  have  run,"  said  the  gay  Lord  Chesterfield, — and  if 
ever  there  was  a  thorough  man  of  the  world,  it  was  he, — 
*'  I  have  run  the  silly  rounds  of  business  and  of  pleasure, 
and  have  done  with  them  all.  I  have  enjoyed  all  the 
pleasures  of  the  world,  and  consequently  know  their 
futility,  and  do  not  regret  their  loss.  I  appraise  them 
at  their  real  value,  which  in  truth  is  very  low :  whereas 
those  who  have  not  experienced  them  always  overrate 
them.  They  only  see  the  gay  outside,  and  are  dazzled 
with  the  glare ;  but  I  have  been  behind  the  scenes,  and 
have  seen  all  the  coarse  pulleys  and  dirty  ropes  which 
exhibit  and  move  the  gaudy  machine.  I  have  seen  and 
smelt  the  tallow  candles  which  illuminate  the  whole 
decorations,  to  the  astonishment  and  admiration  of  an 
ignorant  audience.  I  look  back  on  all  that  is  past  as  one  of 
those  romantic  dreams  which  opium  commonly  produces ; 
and  I  have  no  wish  to  repeat  the  nauseous  dose.  Shall 
I  say  that  I  bear  this  with  resignation  }  No  ;  I  bear  it 
because  I  must,  whether  I  will  or  no.  I  think  of  nothing 
but  killing  time  the  best  way  I  can,  now  that  it  has  become 
my  enemy."  Oh,  what  a  dreary  confession,  from  a  man 
who  had  almost  everything  that  earth  could  provide  to  make 
one  happy  !  I  think  I  have  said  enough  to  show  that  all 
that  "  men  of  the  world  "  have  is  "  a  portion  in  this  life ;  " 
and  that  that  is  but  a  poor,  unsatisfying  portion  at  the  best. 

II.  Now,  I  want  you  to  look  with  me  for  a  few  moments 
at  the  contrast,  as  suggested  by  David's  words  in  the  next 
verse — "As  for  me,  I  will  behold  Thy  face  in  righteousness: 
I    shall   be  satisfied,  when  I  awake  with  Thy   likeness." 


176  The  City  Youth, 

The  contrast  is  very  marked  and  emphatic.  "As  for  me," 
says  the  Psahiiist,  "  I  am  not  a  man  of  the  world,  nor 
have  I  my  portion  in  this  life ;  I  have  got  something 
better  to  think  of  and  seek  after — a  treasure  in  the 
heavens  that  faileth  not — a  portion  that  is  sure  to  satisfy." 
"As  for  me  :  "  he  speaks  of  himself  as  quite  an  exception, 
a  rare  case,  one  separate  from  the  common  throng.  Ah  ! 
it  is  just  here  and  there  that  we  meet  with  such  a  man, 
who,  as  he  passes  through  this  little  life,  keeps  his  eye 
fixed  on  immortality.  And  these  are  the  happiest  men 
after  all,  the  happiest  even  in  this  world.  David  did  not 
mean  that  he  had  no  portion  here,  for  that  he  had ;  but 
the  previous  Psalm  tells  us  where  his  heart  was  set:  "  The 
Lord  is  the  portion  of  mine  inheritance."  "  Ah,"  you  say, 
"that's  religion  ;  that  would  not  make  him  happy."  Well, 
listen  to  what  he  immediately  adds — "  The  lines  are  fallen 
to  me  in  pleasant  places  ;  yea,  I  have  a  goodly  heritage." 
As  though  he  said,  "  There  is  not  one  of  you  men  of  the 
world  that  is  to  be  envied  as  I  am." 

So  thought  Martin  Luther :  when  a  considerable  sum  of 
money  was  on  one  occasion  sent  to  him,  he  declined  to 
accept  it,  and  said  in  his  prayer  that  night,  "  Lord,  Thou 
must  not  think  to  put  me  off  with  a  portion  like  that ;  I 
want  Thyself." 

I  have  reason  to  know  that  I  am  just  now  looking  into 
the  faces  of  some  who  are  not  happy.  You  are  not  at  rest ; 
you  are  not  satisfied  ;  your  heart  still  is  empty ;  you  have 
not  got  that  which  can  make  you  supremely  glad.  There  are 
elderly  men  here,  who  have  been  trying  for  twenty,  thirty, 
and  forty  years  to  suck  out  happiness  from  the  world,  and 
they  have  failed  ;  and  some  of  you,  my  younger  brothers, 
are  just  going  to  make  the  same  experiment,  and  meet 
with  the  same  failure.  I  wish,  with  God's  help,  to  put 
you    on    the   right   track.     I  want  each   of  you   to   take 


Men  of  the   World,  177 

up  David's  words,  **  As  for  me,"  and  follow  the  plan 
which  he  adopted.  There  were  two  things  in  which  he 
placed  the  secret  of  true  happiness  :  the  one  was  seeking 
God  as  his  Saviour;  and  the  other  was  being  made  like 
Plim  in  character. 

I.  "I  will  behold  Thy  face  in  righteousness."  I  think  if 
you  study  the  Bible,  you  will  find  that  when  reference  is 
made  to  the  **  face  of  God,"  there  is  generally  allusion  to 
Jesus  Christ,  His  Son.  We  are  said  to  behold  Him  "  in 
the  face  of  Jesus  Christ."  The  Psalmist  means  that  he 
will  fix  his  eye  on  God,  as  reconciled  to  him  through  the 
righteousness  of  the  Redeemer.  He  will  enjoy  the  light 
of  His  favour.     He  will  bask  in  the  sunshine  of  His  smile. 

This,  believe  me,  is  the  first  secret  of  a  happy  life.  If 
you  want  to  know  the  joy  of  a  heart  at  rest,  the  first  thing 
you  have  to  do  is  to  get  right  with  God.  I  am  persuaded 
that  many  of  you  feel  this  to  be  true.  You  say,  I  would  give 
all  I  have  in  the  world  to  know  that  God  is  at  peace  with 
me,  that  my  sins  are  pardoned,  and  that  my  soul  is  saved. 
My  friends,  this  is^  precisely  the  joy  I  wish  you  to  secure 
now,  and  to  enter  life  with.  Not  to  go  doubting  and 
fearing  for  the  best  years  of  your  life,  until  perhaps  the 
heart  gets  thoroughly  hardened,  or  you  give  up  the  whole 
matter  in  despair;  but  to  have  all  put  straight  now  between 
your  God  and  you  :  and  to  go  forth  to  the  business  of  life 
with  the  buoyancy  and  exhilaration  of  those  who  can 
say — 

*'  The  Lord  Almighty  is  my  friend, 
And  who  can  prove  a  foe  ?  " 

Oh,  that  you  were  brought  to  make  a  complete  surrender 
of  yourselves  to  Jesus  Christ,  to  be  not  only  saved  by  Him, 
but  ruled  and  guided  by  Him  every  hour  of  your  being  : 
what  a  spring  and  charm  it  would  throw  into  your  life — 
never  known  before  !     This  Divine  Book  tells  us  that  there 

la 


178  The  City   YoiUlu 

is  another  light  besides  that  of  reason,  another  impulse 
besides  that  of  nature  ;  and  that  this  light  and  impulse, 
proceeding  from  God,  introduce  us  to  a  new  and  most 
blessed  experience.  As  that  thoughtful  and  devout  French 
believer,  Lacordaire,  wrote,  speaking  of  his  own  conver- 
sion:  "He  who  has  never  known  such  a  time,  has  not 
fully  realised  life.  Once  a  real  Christian,  the  world  did 
not  vanish  before  my  eyes ;  it  rather  assumed  nobler  pro- 
portions, as  I  myself  did.  Instead  of  a  mere  empty,  fleeting 
theatre  of  ambition,  alike  petty  whether  deluded  or 
achieved,  I  began  to  see  therein  a  sufferer  needing  help  ; 
a  mighty  misfortune  resulting  from  all  the  sorrows  of  ages 
past  and  to  come :  and  I  could  imagine  nothing  compar- 
able to  the  happiness  of  ministering  to  it,  with  the  help 
of  the  cross  and  the  Gospel  of  Christ." 

Oh,  my  brothers !  before  whom  there  lie  the  toils  and 
difficulties,  the  disappointments  and  trials,  of  an  unknown 
future,  I  tell  you  that  there  is  but  one  foundation  on  which 
you  can  build  up  a  manly  noble  and  blessed  life,  issuing  in 
a  serene  death  and  a  glorious  immortality,  and  that  founda- 
tion is  the  knowledge  of  Christ  as  your  personal  Saviour. 
Let  "  men  of  the  world  "  have  their  portion  in  this  life,  but 
as  for  you,  may  you  "  behold  God's  face  in  righteousness." 

2.  **  I  shall  be  satisfied,  when  I  awake,  with  Thy  like- 
ness." Satisfied  when  ?  "  When  I  awake."  This  is 
commonly  interpreted  as  having  reference  to  the  morning 
of  resurrection,  when,  aroused  from  the  long  slumber  of 
the  tomb,  the  perfected  saint  shall  arise  in  the  image  of 
his  Saviour.  That  precious  psalm  agrees  well  with  this 
view  in  which  David  says,  "Thou  wilt  not  leave  my  soul  in 
Sheol  [i.e.,  the  place  of  departed  spirits)  ;  Thou  wilt  show 
me  the  path  of  life  :  in  Thy  presence  is  fulness  of  joy : 
at  Thy  right  hand  are  pleasures  evermore."  And,  trulv, 
the  moment  of  resurrection  will  be  the  first  moment  in  our 


Men  of  the   World,  179 

history,  \vhen,  in  the  fullest,  amplest  sense  of  the  word, 
we  shall  be  able  to  say,  "  I  am  satisfied ! "  **  I  have  all 
that  I  can  desire." 

Oh,  tell  me,  have  your  eyelids  ever  opened  with  the 
earthly  dawn,  and  found  you  saying,  with  the  first 
moments  of  returning  consciousness,  *'  I  am  satisfied  "  ? 
Rather,  have  not  care,  and  depression,  and  a  feeling 
of  life's  monotony  weighed  down  your  o\vn  spirit,  as 
another  day  called  you  forth  to  its  duty  and  routine  ? 
Did  not  the  morning  sunshine  seem  only  to  mock  the 
languor  and  dulness  of  your  frame  ?  There  are  many 
persons  to  whom  the  first  hour  of  the  day  is  often  one  of 
peculiar  heaviness  of  spirit.  I  have  known  young  men 
who  have  had  to  contend  with  a  singular  melancholia  for 
some  time  after  rising  in  the  morning.  The  world  seemed 
such  a  tame,  meaningless  routine,  and  each  day  but  a 
tramping  of  the  tedious  treadmill.  Ah  !  you  want  some- 
thing nobler  than  the  prospect  of  gain  to  give  a  sparkle 
and  a  beauty  to  life,  and  to  make  the  heart  truly  glad  I 
and  that  nobler  thing  is  the  prospect  of  being  like  God. 
He  created  man  at  the  first  **  in  His  own  image,  after  His 
own  likeness ;  "  till  man  lost  that  image  in  the  fall,  he  was 
perfectly  happy  ;  and  now  his  heart  will  never  be  com- 
pletely satisfied  again  until  that  image  is  restored,  and  he 
awakes  in  the  Divine  likeness  once  more.  This  is  the 
prospect  that  cheers  a  true  Christian,  *'  We  know  that 
when  He  shall  appear  we  shall  be  like  Him,  for  we  shall 
see  Him  as  Pie  is." 

May  I  persuade  you  all  to  make  the  Psalmist's  choice 
your  own — each  of  you  to  write  your  own  name,  so  to 
speak,  in  the  last  verse  of  this  Psalm,  and  to  say,  "As  for 
me  (here  take  in  the  name),  I  will  behold  Thy  face  in 
righteousness  ;  I  shall  be  satibfied,  when  I  awake,  with 
Thy  likeness  "  ?     I  entreat  you,  not  indeed  to  despise  this 


l8o  The  City   Youth, 

world,  or  affect  to  treat  it  with  disdain, — a  course  worthy 
only  of  a  Pharisee  or  a  hypocrite, — but,  whilst  diligent  in 
business,  and  able  to  enjoy  to  the  full  such  material  com- 
forts as  Heaven  bestows,  to  keep  in  its  own  place  the 
earthly  mammon,  and  by  faith  to  lay  hold  of  "  the  true 
riches,"  which  rust  can  never  tarnish,  nor  thief  plunder, 
nor  misfortune  carry  away,  and  which  even  now  Christ 
waits  to  bestow  upon  every  one  of  you.    Amen. 


A    GOOD    SOLDIER    OF  yESUS    CHRIST. 


**A  good  soldier  of  Jcsiis  Christ P— 2  TiMOTHY  ii.  3. 


XIII. 

A   GOOD  SOLDIER   OF  JESUS  CHRIST. 

PEACE-LOVING  people  as  we  are,  military  matters 
have  for  some  months  engaged  an  unusual  amount 
of  public  attention.  Unhappily,  we  are  becoming  only 
too  familiar  with  the  art  of  war.  The  language  of  the 
camp  and  the  mess-room  is  on  every  one's  lips.  The 
first  thing  we  look  at  in  the  morning  paper  is  the 
news  regarding  our  gallant  forces  now  engaged  in  a 
distant  land.  The  main  topic  of  conversation  is  the 
merits  of  the  military  undertaking  on  which  we  have 
launched.  No  names  are  so  much  talked  of  as  those  of 
distinguished  officers,  who  have  sacrificed  their  lives  for 
the  honour  of  their  country.  And  the  warmest  sympathies 
of  our  heart  are  stirred  towards  the  brave  who  have  fallen 
in  battle,  or  are  now  in  the  midst  of  danger ;  and  towards 
the  bereaved  relatives  of  those  who  will  no  more  return  to 
their  embrace.  One  thing  is  certain,  the  old  spirit  of 
patriotism  is  not  dead.  The  fire  of  dauntless  valour,  of 
invincible  courage,  of  loyalty  to  queen  and  country,  glows 
as  brightly  as  ever  in  the  British  soldier's  breast.  What- 
ever may  be  the  issue  of  the  present  contest  in  the  East, 
it  has  already  proved  that  our  gracious  Sovereign  has,  in 
her  army,  a  host  of  valiant  and  noble  men,  whose  discipline 
is  perfect,  whose  hearts  are  true  as  steel,  and  who  are 
worthy  of  the  nation's  confidence  and  admiration.     Tlie 


1 84  The  City   Youth. 

rank  and  file  of  the  British  army  have  always  borne  a  high 
reputation ;  but  it  is  a  special  feature  of  the  present 
campaign,  that  it  has  brought  into  prominence  the  soldierly 
qualities  of  the  commanding  officers,  whose  pluck,  and 
daring,  and  self-denial  have  been  exhibited,  alas  !  at  a 
costly  price — too  large  a  proportion  of  such  men  having 
fallen  in  the  forefront  of  battle.  There  are  lessons  for  all 
of  us  to  learn  from  the  heroism  and  devotion  to  duty  of 
such  men  as  the  lamented  General  Earle  and  Sir  Herbert 
Stewart ;  whilst  the  name  of  General  Gordon  is  now, 
throughout  the  civilised  world,  a  synonym  not  only  for  all 
that  is  noblest  in  humanity,  but  for  a  lofty  godliness  and 
saintly  chivalry,  which  have  rarely  been  equalled,  and 
certainly  never  surpassed.  Thank  God,  the  day  is  past 
when  a  man  of  piety  was  a  rara  avis  in  the  British  army, 
and  when  soldiers  scarcely  uttered  the  Divine  name  but 
to  blaspheme  it ;  a  remarkable  and  blessed  change  has 
come  ;  there  are  godly,  praying  men  in  every  branch  of  the 
service  ;  and  when  a  soldier  is  a  Christian,  he  is  generally 
one  to  the  backbone ;  he  is  decided  and  fearless  in  his 
testimony.  The  present  excellent  Chaplain-General  to 
the  Forces  stated  the  other  day  at  Portsmouth,  that  the 
generosity,  the  devotion,  the  courage  of  a  soldier's  witness 
for  God,  had  often  shamed,  and  yet  inspired  him.  **  I 
know  their  faults,  their  temptations,  their  dangers,"  said 
he,  **  but  I  know  much  more.  I  have  ever  felt  their  warm- 
hearted appreciation  of  any  effort  to  induce  them  to  be 
better  men  ;  the  readiness  with  which  they  respond  to 
sympathy ;  the  eagerness  with  which  they  listen  to  any 
plain  and  simple  pleadings  for  God.  It  has  been  my 
privilege,"  he  added,  "to  be  placed  with  officers  whose 
words  have  spurred  me  on,  and  whose  lives  have  stimulated 
my  flagging  energies.  And  it  has  been  my  joy  to  see 
some  of  the  men  to  whom  I  have  ministered  leading  new 


A   Good  Soldier  of  Jesus   Christ,        185 

lives,  growing  more  pure  and  truthful,  more  manly  and 
temperate,  more  loyal  to  their  true  INIaster,  Jesus  Christ." 

Our  thoughts  having  recently  been  so  much  in  this  vein, 
I  thought  of  bringing  before  you  this  evening y^«r  military 
officers  presented  to  us  in  the  New  Testament,  each  of 
whom  is,  in  some  respects,  worthy  of  our  imitation.  I  refer 
to  the  four  centurions  of  Scripture,  two  of  whom  are  men- 
tioned in  the  Gospels,  and  two  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

'*  Centurion,"  I  need  scarcely  tell  you,  was  the  name 
given  to  an  officer  of  a  certain  rank  in  the  Roman  army. 
The  Romans  generally  divided  the  army  into  legions  ; 
each  legion  into  ten  **  bands"  or  cohorts;  each  cohort 
into  three  maniples ;  and  each  maniple  into  two  centuries, 
consisting  of  one  hundred  men  apiece.  Thus,  there  were 
sixty  centuries  in  a  legion,  and  each  of  these  was  under 
the  command  of  a  centurion.  The  word  "  legion  "  was 
not  always  confined  to  its  strict  military  sense,  but  was 
used  to  express  any  large  number ;  thus  the  demoniac  of 
Mark  v.  9,  said,  '*  ]\Iy  name  is  Legion,  for  we  are  many ;  " 
and  our  blessed  Lord,  in  the  hour  of  His  betrayal,  said, 
"  Thinkest  thou  that  I  cannot  pray  to  ]\Iy  Father,  and  He 
shall  presently  give  Me  more  than  twelve  legions  of  angels .?" 

Now  the  four  oflicers  I  am  to  introduce  to  you  this 
evening  may  be  thus  distinguished,  taking  them  in  their 
Scriptural  order.  i.  The  centurion  of  Capernaum,  or 
the  man  of  faith.  2.  The  centurion  of  Jerusalem,  or 
the  man  of  deep  emotion.  3.  The  centurion  of  Csesarea, 
or  the  man  of  prayer.  And  4.  The  centurion  of  the 
Augustan  band,  or  the  man  of  kindness  of  heart. 

The  personal  names  of  the  two  former  we  do  not  know ; 
the  third  was  called  Cornelius,  and  the  fourth  Julius.  All 
these  men  were  presumably  Gentiles  by  birth,  and  I  can- 
not positively  assert  of  every  one  of  them  that  they  were 
brought  under  the  power  of  God's  saving  grace  ;  but  each 


1 86  The  City   Youth, 

possessed  qualities  or  features  which  made  them  worthy 
of  our  imitation. 

I.  The  first  in  the  list  is  the  ceniurion  of  Capernaum.  Pro- 
bably there  was  a  small  Roman  garrison  stationed  there, 
and  this  man  was  the  officer  in  charge.  Whatever  his  pre- 
vious history  had  been,  it  is  evident  that  he  had  felt  the 
emptiness  of  heathen  superstition,  and  was  now  attaching 
himself  to  the  Jewish  religion,  and  to  the  worship  of  the 
one  true  God.  He  believed  in  the  Divine  power  of  Jesus, 
and  being  in  trouble,  ventured  to  apply  to  Him  for  help. 

At  home  he  had  a  trusty  and  beloved  servant,  who  was 
apparently  at  the  point  of  death.  All  the  medical  skill 
of  the  town  had  failed  to  save  him,  and  the  sufferer  was 
lying  in  the  agony  and  helplessness  of  hopeless  paralysis. 
The  kind-hearted  officer  believed  that  Jesus  could  effect 
the  cure,  yet  scarcely  dared  to  approach  Him  with  the 
request.  He  was  evidently  a  man  much  esteemed  in 
Capernaum,  and  he  had  endeared  himself  to  the  Jewish 
community  there  by  the  warmth  of  his  affection,  and  the 
munificence  of  his  liberality.  Indeed,  he  had,  at  his  own 
expense,  built  for  them  a  synagogue.  So  that  the  Jewish 
elders  were  only  too  willing  to  do  a  service  for  him,  and 
to  be  the  bearers  of  his  petition  to  Christ.  Whilst  they 
are  off  upon  the  errand,  he  bethinks  himself  that  he  has 
been  guilty  of  too  great  a  presumption ;  so  he  sends  other 
friends  to  the  Master,  requesting  Him  not  to  stoop  so  low 
as  to  come  and  enter  his  dwelling,  but  to  speak  the  healing 
word  at  a  distance,  and  his  servant  will  be  restored.  And 
his  mode  of  reasoning  is  given,  that  we  may  see  the  artless- 
ness  and  simplicity  of  his  faith.  "  If,"  he  argues,  "  I 
myself,  though  in  a  subordinate  office,  find  my  servants 
and  inferiors  instantly  obedient  to  my  will,  so  that,  if  I 
say  to  this  man,  Go,  he  goeth  ;  and  if  I  say  to  that  man. 
Come,  he  cometh  ;  and  if  I  say  to  my  servant,  Do  this,  he 


A   Good  Soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,        187 

doeth  it ;  how  much  more  will  Christ,  who  is  Lord  over  all 
the  hosts  of  heaven,  have  power  to  send  at  once  some  view- 
less messenger  of  healing,  and  make  the  sufferer  well  1 " 

The  Lord  was  struck  by  so  remarkable  a  faith,  the  like 
of  which  He  had  not  yet  seen  in  Israel. 

Now,  that  Roman  officer  stands  forth  as  an  example  to 
us  all.  Who  would  have  expected  to  find  in  the  military 
garrison  at  Capernaum  such  a  faith  ?  Thank  God  the  army 
furnishes  many  a  noble  instance  of  a  simple,  but  robust 
confidence  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  Some  of  the  most 
fervent  believers  I  have  ever  known  have  been  officers  in 
the  Queen's  service.  It  is  far  from  easy  to  maintain  a 
religious  profession  there.  If  a  man's  piety  is  only  skin- 
deep  it  will  soon  be  knocked  out  of  him ;  but  if  it  is  real, 
if  it  is  genuine,  the  very  opposition  it  meets  with  makes 
it  grow  hardy  and  fearless.  Some  of  you,  probably,  think 
your  position  is  nearly  as  trying.  You  want  to  act  the 
Christian,  but  all  the  influences  in  your  house  of  business 
are  dead  against  you.  Well,  remember,  if  God  gives  you 
grace  to  be  faithful,  to  stick  to  your  colours,  and  not  yield 
an  inch  of  principle,  your  faith  will  grow  stronger  by  the 
resistance  it  meets  with ;  you  will  advance  to  the  forefront 
of  living  and  decided  believers,  and  will  one  day  bless  God 
for  all  the  trying  discipline  through  which  you  were  made 
**  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ." 

II.  The  next  military  officer  to  whom  I  would  draw  your 
attention  is  the  cc7tturio7i  ivho  stood  by  the  cross  of  Jesus. 
In  order  to  prevent  the  possibility  of  any  rescue,  even  at 
the  last  moment,  the  authorities  had  stationed  there  a 
quaternion  of  soldiers  with  their  officer.  It  was  the 
common  practice  to  give  to  these  men,  as  perquisites,  the 
clothing  of  the  victims  who  were  crucified  ;  and  St.  John 
tells  us,  with  painful  realness  of  description,  how  the 
soldiers,  with  loathsome  avidity,  divided  the  garments  of 


1 88  The  City  Youth, 

Jesus  amongst  themselves ;  but  finding  the  under-vest 
woven  and  seamless  (so  that  to  rend  would  be  to  spoil  it), 
they  cast  lots  as  to  which  of  the  four  should  have  it.  Then 
they  sat  down  and  watched  the  last  writhings  of  the  innocent 
sufferer. 

When  we  consider  that  even  the  priests,  and  scribes,  and 
elders — lost  to  every  sense  of  right  feeling — ^jeered  and 
reviled  the  Crucified  One,  we  can  scarcely  wonder  that 
the  rude  and  ignorant  soldiery  took  their  share  in  the 
shameless  ribaldry ;  *'  that  at  their  midday  meal  they 
pledged  in  mock  hilarity  the  dying  Man,  cruelly  holding 
up  towards  His  burning  lips  their  cups  of  sour  wine,  and 
echoing  the  Jewish  taunts  against  the  weakness  of  a  King 
whose  throne  was  a  cross,  and  whose  crown  was  thorns." 

In  pleasing  contrast  to  their  profane  levity  was  the 
solemn  and  reverent  attitude  of  the  officer  over  them,  on 
whom  all  the  circumstances  of  the  occasion  made  a  pro- 
found impression.  Whatever  may  have  been  hitherto  his 
opinions  regarding  Jesus,  the  wondrous  scenes  of  Calvary 
convinced  him  not  only  that  He  was  guiltless,  but  that 
He  was  Divine ;  and  when  he  listened  to  His  latest 
utterance,  "  Father,  into  Thy  hands  I  commend  My  spirit," 
and  saw  the  earthquake,  and  all  that  was  done,  his 
feelings  overcame  him,  and  he  burst  out  with  the  excla- 
mation, "  Certainly  this  was  a  righteous  man ;  "  nay, 
more,  as  St.  Matthew  records,  "Truly  this  was  the  Son  of 
God."  With  the  instinct  of  a  new-begotten  faith,  he 
perceived  that  that  death  of  agony  was  vicarious,  that  the 
rigliteous  had  suffered  in  room  of  the  guilty,  and  that  the 
sinless  substitute  was  truly  Divine. 

Thus,  at  the  beginning  of  Christ's  ministry,  and  at 
its  close,  He  was  the  object  of  a  centurion's  faith.  In 
the  one  case,  the  faith  was  begotten  by  the  sight  of  the 
living ;  in  the  other,  of  the  dying  Saviour.     This  officer 


A   Good  Soldier  of  Jtsus  Christ,        189 

was  deeply  moved.  It  is  often  a  very  tender  heart  that 
beats  under  a  soldier's  uniform.  It  does  not  take  much 
sometimes  to  touch  their  deepest  nature.  A  more  impres- 
sible class  of  men  I  have  rarely  ministered  to.  I  have 
seen  the  salt  tears  dropping  from  eyes  that  were  not 
accustomed  to  weep.  Some  appeal  to  their  earliest 
memories ;  some  earnest  presentation  of  the  Saviour's 
love;  some  pressing  entreaty  to  live  a  new  and  nobler 
life,  would  awaken  springs  of  emotion  in  strong  men 
who  would  march  unmoved  in  the  foremost  line  of 
battle. 

I  like  this  centurion's  bold  and  fearless  avowal.  He 
is  not  afraid  to  compromise  himself,  or  risk  the  hostility 
of  those  around  him.  **  Beyond  a  question,"  says  he, 
"this  is  the  Son  of  God."  And  we  know  what  St.  John 
says,  that  **  Whosoever  shall  confess  that  Jesus  is  the 
Son  of  God,  God  dwelleth  in  him,  and  he  in  God."  We 
want  a  little  more  of  this  direct,  unhesitating  faith, 
and  crisp,  outspoken  confession.  There  are  so  many  of 
us  who  have  only  a  sort  of  half-belief  of  Christian  truth  ; 
and  as  for  testimony,  we  never  open  our  lips  for  our 
Master.  Oh !  let  us  take  a  leaf  out  of  the  book  of  these 
Roman  officers,  and  boldly  avow  our  faith  in  Jesus,  both 
as  our  living  Saviour  and  as  our  perfect  sacrifice. 

III.  The  next  military  officer  I  have  to  introduce  to 
you  bore  the  aristocratic  name  of  Cornelius.  The  Cor- 
nelii  were  a  family  of  high  position  in  Rome  ;  and  as  the 
Emperor  Julian  classes  this  officer  amongst  the  fev/ 
persons  of  distinction  who  in  the  earliest  days  of  Chris- 
tianity embraced  that  religion,  it  is  more  than  likely  that 
he  belonged  to  this  patrician  stock.  He  took  the  over- 
sight of  the  Roman  military  station  at  Cossarea,  and  com- 
manded a  company  who  were  called  "  the  Italian  band," 
probably   because    most   of    the    soldiers    who    originally 


190  The  City   Youth, 

composed  it  had  been  levied  in  Italy.  But,  as  we  find 
amongst  ourselves  such  titles  as  *'  the  Coldsteam  Guards," 
•'the  Sutherland  Highlanders,"  and  suchlike — indicating 
the  quarter  out  of  which  the  corps  was  originally  drafted, 
though  now  they  may  have  no  connection  with  it — the 
term  "Italian  band"  may  just  have  chanced  to  be  the 
name  by  which  the  regiment  of  Cornelius  was  known. 
Anyway,  the  men  were  fortunate  enough  to  have  in 
their  superior  officer  a  beautiful  character,  who  is  thus 
described,  **  A  devout  man,  and  one  that  feared  God  with 
all  his  house,  who  gave  much  alms  to  the  people,  and 
prayed  to  God  alway." 

A  high  testimony,  is  it  not  ?  What  a  blessing  it  must  be 
to  a  regiment  to  have  over  them  a  God-fearing,  benevolent, 
and  prayerful  man  !  What  an  influence  for  good  it  must 
have  upon  the  rank  and  file  !  I  think  of  Cornelius  specially 
as  a  man  of  prayer.  Even  when  he  was  but  very  dimly 
acq'-iainted  with  Christian  truth,  he  was  unremitting  in  the 
constancy  and  fervency  of  his  prayers;  and  to  the  effectual 
and  fervent  prayers  of  this  righteous  man  we  owe  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Gospel  to  the  Gentiles.  Remember,  Christ 
had  as  yet  been  preached  to  none  but  to  Jews  only.  But, 
in  answer  to  the  unwearied  pleadings  of  this  pious  officer, 
the  Lord  sent  Peter  down  from  Joppa  to  Ca^sarea,  where 
he  preached  a  sermon  that  roused  the  whole  neighbour- 
hood, and  brought  large  numbers  to  the  feet  of  Jesus. 
None  of  you  can  tell  what  blessings  you  are  reaping  to-day 
from  the  unwearied  intercessions  of  that  pious  officer.  Oh, 
the  power  of  believing  prayer !  No  wonder  Queen  ]\Iary 
said  she  feared  John  Knox's  prayers  more  than  all  the 
armies  of  her  enemies  ! 

Thank  God,  we  have,  amongst  the  defenders  of  our 
country,  a  large  number  of  praying  men.  A  gentleman 
told  me  the  other  day,  on  the  best  authority,  not  only  that 


A   Good  Soldier  of  Jesics   Christ,         191 

.  there  are  many  such  at  present  in  our  army  at  the  Soudan, 
but  that  united  prayer-meetings  are  held  amongst  them  : 
and  on  the  evening  preceding  each  of  the  great  and 
anticipated  encounters,  there  were  knots  of  pious  soldiers 
on  their  knees  together,  committing  their  cause  to  God. 

It  is  well  known  that  General  Gordon  was,  in  this  respect, 
a  true  Cornelius.  Whilst  resident  in  Gravesend,  on  military 
duty  there,  he  had  a  large  class  of  boys,  to  whose  spiritual 
welfare  he  devoted  himself;  and  in  connection  with  this 
a  pleasing  incident  is  told,  that  illustrates  the  confidence 
he  had  in  the  efficacy  of  prayer.  A  friend  one  day  enter- 
ing his  private  room,  observed  upon  the  wall  a  large  map 
of  the  world,  certain  portions  of  which  were  dotted  over 
vi.h  little  pins  which  were  stuck  into  the  sheet.  On 
inquiring  the  meaning  of  this,  he  was  informed  that  each 
of  these  pins  denoted  a  spot  where  one  of  the  general's 
former  pupils  was  now  located,  and  the  good  man  in  this 
way  kept  them  individually  before  his  mind,  and  daily 
brought  every  one  before  the  Lord  in  prayer.  A  friend 
who  laboured  with  him  in  Christian  work  amongst  the 
lads,  says  that  General  Gordon  invariably  took  his  share 
of  the  duty  of  opening  and  closing  the  school  with  prayer. 
**  Well  do  I  remember  him,"  says  that  friend,  "  as  he 
prayed  at  these  meetings ;  with  his  right  hand  over  his 
eyes,  and  his  left  hand  supporting  the  elbow  of  the  right, 
he  would  stand,  and  in  his  quiet,  humble  way,  speak  with 
God.  In  all  he  did  and  said,  he  was  marked  among  us 
for  his  deep  humility."  After  Gordon  had  been  called 
away  from  that  work,  he  still  remembered  it  at  the  throne 
of  grace ;  and  wrote,  saying,  **  I  daily  twice  pray  for  the 
welfare  of  the  school  and  teachers."  I  believe  that 
his  singular  prayerfulness  arose  out  of  his  intense  con- 
sciousness of  the  reality  and  nearness  of  a  personal 
God.     God  \^as  not  to  him,  as  He  is  to  many,  a  mere  idear 


192  The  City  Youth, 

a  remote  abstraction.  He  was  the  most  real  of  all  persons, 
and  to  be  consulted  and  obeyed  at  every  turn.  Believe 
me,  my  brothers,  this  is  the  secret  of  a  strong  and  noble 
life.  What  calmness,  what  imperturbable  serenity  of  mind 
it  gave  to  the  hero  of  Khartoum !  Like  the  Psalmist,  he 
could  not  only  say,  **  I  have  set  the  Lord  always  before 
me  ; "  but  he  could  add,  **  Because  He  is  on  my  right  hand, 
I  shall  not  be  moved."  If  you  are  to  be  true,  and,  in  the 
best  sense  of  the  word,  successful  men,  follow  the  example 
of  this  modern  Cornelius,  and  "  pray  to  God  alway." 

But  IV.  I  must  now,  in  a  single  word  or  two,  bring 
before  you  the  last  of  the  New  Testament  centurions,  into 
whose  character  we  have  some  insight ;  and  this  was 
Julius,  also  stationed  for  a  time  at  Csesarea,  and  attached 
to  a  cohort  called  the  Augustan  band.  The  term 
"Augustan,"  derived  from  the  title  of  the  Roman  Emperor, 
was  as  common  as  the  term  **  Royal "  is  amongst  our- 
selves ;  and,  probably,  the  company  referred  to  were 
veteran  soldiers  originally  enrolled  by  Augustus  as  a 
bodyguard.  But  this  it  is  not  of  much  consequence  to 
determine.  Our  interest  culminates  in  the  officer  who 
seems  to  have  had  command,  and  who  (to  his  honour  be 
it  said)  stands  out  conspicuously  in  the  narrative  as  a 
courteous,  honourable,  and  kindly  man.  To  his  charge 
St.  Paul  was  delivered,  when  he  was  sent  a  prisoner  from 
Palestine  to  Rome.  The  voyage  to  Italy  was  undertaken 
in  a  ship  of  Adramyttium,  and  proved,  you  recollect,  one 
of  much  hardship  and  danger.  The  first  part  of  it, 
however,  was  so  prosperous,  that  the  very  next  day  after 
they  started,  they  arrived  in  the  harbour  at  Sidon,  sixty- 
seven  miles  north  of  Cce  area.  Ihere  they  halted  for  an 
hour  or  two,  and,  as  we  are  informed,  **  Julius  courteously 
entreated  Paul,  and  gave  him  liberty  to  go  unto  his  friends 
to  refresh  himself.'*     It   is  not  improbable  that  the  two 


A   Good  Soldier  of  Jesus   Christ,         193 

years'  imprisonment  the  Apostle  had  already  undergone 
had  told  unfavourably  on  his  health  ;  and  sea-sickness 
may  also  have  added  to  his  discomfort.  It  is  pleasant 
to  know  that  he  had,  as  a  fellow-passenger  in  that  rough 
Alexandrian  corn  ship,  so  excellent  a  friend  as  Luke,  the 
beloved  physician,  who  possibly  had  been  officially  en- 
gaged as  medical  attendant  to  the  passengers.  Luke 
would  have  many  opportunities  of  observing  the  treatment 
which  Paul  received  at  the  hands  of  Julius :  and  in  the 
graphic  story  which  he  tells,  there  are  repeated  indications 
that  the  Roman  centurion  showed  his  notable  prisoner  all 
consideration  and  urbanity.  We  thank  him  for  this.  We 
like  to  think  that  the  noble  and  self-denying  Christian 
missionary  was  not  treated  harshly  or  unkindly :  and  around 
the  name  of  Julius  there  lingers  a  pleasing  fragrance,  as 
^.ar  excellence  a  man  of  polite  and  gentlemanly  bearing.  I 
turn  to  that  name  in  a  standard  Bible  Dictionary,  and  I 
find  the  following  designation  of  its  bearer :  "  The  cour- 
teous centurion  of  Augustus'  band,  to  whose  charge  St. 
Paul  was  delivered  when  he  was  sent  a  prisoner  to  Rome." 
A  man  of  benevolent  disposition  and  obliging  spirit. 

There  is  often  a  great  deal  of  true  refinement  and 
generosity  of  heart  under  the  military  cloak.  There  is 
no  evidence  that  this  man  was  a  Christian,  but  he  was 
just  the  sort  of  man  whom  the  truth,  when  it  lays  hold 
of,  makes  a  beautiful  and  attractive  character.  Some  of 
us  might  do  well  to  take  a  lesson  from  him.  "  Love  as 
brethren,"  says  St.  Peter,  "  be  pitiful,  be  courteous." 
Sympathy  for  others  and  consideration  for  their  feelings, 
are  indispensable  features  of  a  true  gentleman.  The 
distinguished  soldier  I  have  so  often  referred  to  was 
thus  considerate,  almost  to  a  fault.  Perhaps  next  to 
his  faith  in  God,  nothing  was  so  prominent  in  his 
character  as  his  disinterestedness,  and  desire  to  benefit 

13 


194  The  City  Youth, 

his  fellow-men.  He  was  the  most  unselfish  mortal  ever 
known.  He  rejected  a  fortune  in  China,  and  refused  a 
salary  in  the  Soudan.  He  cared  nothing  for  honours 
or  applause,  and  such  medals  as  he  had  he  did  not 
scruple  to  turn  into  money  for  the  relief  of  those  in  want. 
While  he  was  in  Gravesend  he  not  only  taught  a  company 
of  poor  lads  on  the  Sunday,  but  he  would  also  have  them 
at  his  house  on  weekdays,  feeding,  and  clothing,  and  even 
lodging  them.  Three  or  four  of  them  were,  on  one 
occasion,  laid  up  with  scarlet  fever  in  his  own  residence, 
and  one  of  these,  now  a  man  of  twenty-nine,  related  how 
the  General  used  to  care  for  them  in  their  sickness,  and 
how  he  would  sit  up  with  them  at  night,  and  talk  to 
them,  and  soothe  them,  until  they  fell  asleep.  "  General 
Gordon's  face,"  says  another,  **  all  the  time  I  knew  him, 
wore  an  habitually  serene  aspect  of  peace,  compassion, 
kindness,  and  of  inward  joy  and  strength."  We  know 
that  his  favourite  book  and  pocket  companion,  next  to 
his  Bible,  was  the  "  Imitation  of  Christ,"  and  into  the 
image  of  his  Divine  INIaster  he  wonderfully  grew.  Thus, 
it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that  Gordon — "  hero  among 
heroes,"  as  the  Prime  Minister  called  him — combined 
in  his  own  person  the  excellencies  of  the  four  centurions 
of  Scripture. 

Such  men  are  not  raised  up  by  God  without  a  great 
purpose  :  and  surely  one  part  of  that  great  purpose  is  to 
stimulate  others,  and  especially  younger  men,  to  follow 
their  splendid  example.  I  take  it  to  be  a  hopeful  sign  of 
our  time,  that  all  the  world  has  joined  in  its  tribute  of 
admiration  to  a  man  who  was,  above  all  things,  distin- 
guished as  "  a  good  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ."  It  speaks 
well  for  the  age,  that  it  appreciates  so  highly  those  quali- 
ties of  character  that  made  him  illustrious. 

Strive  to  make  these  qualities  your  own.     You  may  not 


A   Good  Soldier  of  Jesus  Christ,        195 

indeed  be  called  to  a  military  life,  in  the  usual  sense  of 
the  term,  but  you  are  all  called  into  the  service  of  Christ. 
I  go  recruiting  to-day  for  my  Royal  Master.  I  want 
you  all  to  enlist  forthwith  in  the  army  of  the  faithful. 

**  Stand  up,  stand  up,  for  Jesus 
The  strife  will  not  be  long  ; 
This  day,  the  noise  of  battle, 

The  next,  the  victor's  song. 
To  him  that  overcometh, 

A  crown  of  life  shall  be  ; 

He  with  the  King  of  Glory, 

Shall  reign  eternally  !  " 

Amen. 


A  MAN  IN  CHRIST. 


*'  /  hiew  a  man  in   Christ  about  fourteen  years  ago.** — 2  Cqrin 
TUIANS  xii.  2 


XIV. 

A   MAN  IN  CHRIST, 

IT  is  plain  that  that  person  was  none  other  than  Paul 
himself.  The  verses  which  follow  make  this  perfectly 
clear.  Why,  then,  does  not  the  Apostle  frankly  say  so  } 
Why  does  he  speak  of  himself  in  the  third  person  instead 
of  in  the  first  ?  Simply  because  he  wished  to  avoid  even 
the  semblance  of  boasting.  He  did  not  want  to  be  egotist- 
ical. Bold  and  fearless  as  Paul  was,  and  able  to  assert 
his  position  and  authority  when  occasion  required,  he  was 
a  singularly  modest  man.  He  knew  that  the  grace  of  God 
had  done  much  for  him  ;  but  he  did  not  hesitate  to  ac- 
knowledge that  "in  himself,  that  is,  in  his  flesh,  the"re 
dwelt  no  good  thing."  No  one.can  study  the  life  of  this 
remarkable  man  without  observing  that  his  humility  in- 
creased with  his  years,  till  his  one  governing  desire  came 
to  be  that  self  should  be  extinguished,  and  Christ 
magnified.  If  it  seems  odd  to  you  that  Paul  should  speak 
of  himself  in  the  third  person,  you  should  remember  that 
many  other  writers  have  done  the  same.  Thus  John  con- 
stantly does  so  in  his  Gospel;  and,  amongst  profane 
authors,  the  practice  is  far  from  rare. 

Very  well.  Paul  tells  us  something  about  himself — 
something  that  happened  to  him  about  fourteen  years  pre- 
viously. He  had  a  remarkable  vision.  He  was  lifted  up, 
in  some  mysterious  way  he  could  not  understand  nor  explain, 


200  The  City   Youth, 

into  the  third  heavens,  where  he  heard  such  glorious  things 
as  no  mortal  tongue  could  utter.  God  was  pleased  to  honour 
liim,  above  other  men,  with  an  express  revelation.  Appa- 
rently, Paul  had  never  said  a  word  about  it  to  any  one  until 
now.     It  had  remained  a  secret  between  him  and  his  God. 

1  am  not  going  to  guess  what  it  had  been  about.  We 
shall  not  even  stay  to  inquire  what  is  meant  by  the  '*  third 
heaven."  What  I  want  you  to  notice  is,  that  when  Paul 
looked  back  fourteen  years,  his  recollection  of  himself  at 
that  time  was  of  "  a  man  in  Christ."  lie  could  look  further 
back  than  that  (as  he  did  in  writing  his  Second  Epistle  to 
Timothy),  and  recall  the  time  when,  so  far  from  being  **  a 
man  in  Christ,"  he  was  *'  a  blasphemer,  and  a  persecutor, 
and  injurious."  But  about  twenty-five  years  before  the  words 
of  our  text  were  written,  the  Lord  met  him,  and  called 
him  into  the  kingdom  of  His  grace ;  and,  from  that 
memorable  hour,  he  had  been  "  in  Christ,"  a  new  creature. 

I  wonder  if  it  is  possible,  looking  back  on  his  career, 
to  put  our  finger  on  the  very  occasion  to  which  our 
text  refers.  This  Epistle  is  believed  to  have  been  written 
in  the  year  a.d.  6o.  Going  back  fourteen  years,  we  arrive 
at  the  year  a.d.  46  ;  and,  as  nearly  as  we  can  calculate, 
that  was  the  period  when  he  made  his  second  journey 
to  Jerusalem.  Well,  it  is  interesting  to  notice  that  when 
Paul,  at  a  time  long  subsequent  to  this,  was,  as  a  prisoner 
of  Christ,  giving  to  an  excited  throng  a  review  of  his  past 
life  ;  and  making  his  noble  defence  before  the  authorities, 
he  said,  "And  it  came  to  pass,  that  when  I  was  come 
again  to  Jerusalem,  even  while  I  prayed  in  the  temple,  I 
was   in  a  trance." 

Possibly,  this  was  the  very  vision  to  which  our  text 
refers.  Perhaps  it  was  then,  as  his  soul  was  poured  out 
to  God  in  his  devotions  in  the  temple,  that  it  was  given 
to   him   to   be   mysteriously  abstracted   from   all   earthly 


A  Man  in  Christ,  20I 

things,  and  borne  into  the  immediate  presence  of  the 
Most  High. 

Another  view  has  been  suggested,  which  is  reasonable 
and  interesting.  If  you  study  the  chronology  of  the 
Acts  of  the  Apostles,  you  will  find  that  it  was  just  about 
fourteen  years  before  this  Epistle  was  written  that, 
in  his  evangelistic  travels,  he  visited  the  town  of 
Lystra.  Whilst  preaching  there,  he  noticed  a  poor  cripple 
in  the  audience,  who  was  eagerly  attentive  to  the  truth. 
He  felt  a  deep  interest  in  the  man,  and  with  a  voice  of 
authority,  that  carried  with  it  the  healing  power,  he  com- 
manded him  to  rise  and  stand  upon  his  feet.  There  was 
an  instantaneous  and  perfect  cure.  The  crowd  who  wit- 
nessed it  were  filled  with  amazement,  and,  believing  that 
Paul  and  his  companion  Barnabas  were  deities  come  down 
to  earth  in  human  form,  fell  at  their  feet  to  worship  them  ; 
and,  had  they  not  been  prevented,  would  have  offered 
sacrifices  to  them. 

Meanwhile,  the  news  of  these  things  spread.  The  Jews 
in  Antioch  and  Iconium  heard  of  the  stir  the  Apostles 
were  making,  and  hurried  to  Lystra  to  counteract  the  im- 
pression. They  were  only  too  successful  in  their  effort, 
for  the  people,  no  longer  reckoning  Paul  to  be  divine, 
became  now  persuaded  that  he  was  an  emissary  of  evil. 
The  revulsion,  had  it  not  been  serious  and  dangerous, 
would  have  been  ridiculous.  The  fickle  and  excitable 
mob  became  as  wild  in  their  fury  as  they  had  been  in 
their  delight.  They  proceeded  to  stone  the  unprotected 
missionary,  until  he  lay  helpless  and  unconscious  on  the 
ground  ;  and  then  they  dragged  what  they  supposed  to  be 
his  corpse  outside  the  gates  of  the  city. 

But  Paul  was  not  dead.  Stunned  indeed  he  was.  but  not 
killed.  He  had  fallen  into  a  heavy  swoon  that  looked 
like  death  ;    but  whilst  the  disciples  in  an  agonised  group 


202  The  City  Youth, 

stood  around  his  pale  form,  his  consciousness  returned, 
he  rose  upon  his  feet,  and  proceeded  to  resume  his 
labours  as  though  nothing  had  occurred.  Who  can  tell 
that  it  was  not  during  that  period  of  coma  that  he  was 
mysteriously  wafted  to  the  third  heavens,  and  beheld  the 
vision  of  God,  which  afterwards  left  so  deep  an  impression 
upon  him  ? 

Be  this,  or  be  it  not,  a  correct  view  of  the  matter,  what  I 
have  to  do  with  this  evening,  and  what  I  wish  to  fasten  your 
attention  on,  is  the  fact  that,  looking  back  so  many  years 
on  his  past  history,  Paul  could  unhesitatingly  speak  of 
himself  as  *'a  man  in  Christ." 

By  this  he  meant  a  Christian.  He  used  the  same  form 
of  expression  when  speaking  of  others.  In  writing  to  the 
Romans,  he  sent  his  kindly  greeting  to  his  own  cousins 
Andronicus  and  Junia,  who  were  converted  to  the  Lord 
before  himself;  and  he  did  it  in  these  words: — "Salute 
Andronicus  and  Junia,  my  kinsmen,  who  were  in  Christ 
before  me." 

Thank  God,  not  a  few  young  men  whom  I  am  now 
addressing  are  sincere  believers ;  and  I  am  sure  that  each 
of  you  feels,  in  looking  back  upon  your  past  history,  what- 
ever red-letter  days  you  may  have,  that  by  far  the  most 
important  date  you  can  recall,  is  the  time  when  you 
became  '*  a  man  in  Christ." 

Sometime  ago  I  addressed  you  from  the  text  (taken  from 
the  1 7th  Psalm),  ''•  Men  of  the  world."  This  evening  we  leap 
to  a  higher  platform.  Nothing  short  of  this  will  content  me, 
that  you  be,  all  of  you,  "  men  in  Christ."  The  line  that 
divides  these  two  states  is  very  marked  and  clear.  j\Ian, 
in  a  state  of  nature,  is  living  under  a  three-fold  dominion, 
that  of  the  world,  the  flesh,  and  the  devil ;  only  by  union 
with  Christ  does  he  escape  from  all.  The  Bible  uses  each 
form  of  expression  to  denote  our  natural  condition.     If 


A  Man  in  -Christ,  203 

David  speaks  of  the  unregenerate  as  "  men  of  the  world," 
Paul  speaks  of  them  as  being  **  in  the  flesh,"  and  John  as 
"children  of  the  devil,"  But,  indeed  under  this  triple 
empire  all  are  living  who  are  not  '*  in  Christ."  Escaping 
from  one,  you  escape  from  all ;  serving  one,  you  are 
servants  of  all.  So  long  as  you  are  on  the  platform  of 
nature,  you  have  no  part  in  Christ.  It  must  be  granted, 
that  even  those  who  are  out  of  Christ  (because  they  have 
never  been  in  Him)  are  of  all  grades  of  character.  Some 
are  of  a  very  high  morale,  virtuous,  cultured,  and  refined ; 
others  are  sunk  in  the  lowest  mire  of  sensuality  and 
ignorance  ;  but,  so  long  as  they  know  not  Christ,  they  are 
all  in  the  same  boat,  and  all  drifting  towards  the  same 
terminus.  Hard  as  it  is  to  say  it,  the  blatant  infidel,  who 
scoffs  at  religion,  and  vomits  out  his  loathsome  blasphe- 
mies at  the  very  name  of  Jesus,  and  the  superstitious 
enthusiast,  who  thinks  to  earn  his  right  to  heaven  by 
fastings,  and  prayers,  and  endless  ceremonies  (God  forbid 
that  I  should  judge  them,  or  say  what  their  eternal  future 
will  be,  but  this,  at  least,  is  as  clear  as  the  words  of 
Scripture  can  make  it),  they  are  alike  out  of  Christ,  they 
are  yet  in  their  sins,  they  have  no  link  uniting  them  to  the 
kingdom  of  the  blest. 

The  supreme  question  then  for  every  one  of  you,  my 
brothers,  beside  which  every  other  question  sinks  into 
utter  insignificance,  is  this,  "  Am  I  a  man  in  Christ  ?  " 
Nor  is  the  question  so  difficult  of  answer  as  some  would 
fain  make  it  to  be.  Were  Paul  on  the  earth  now,  and 
visiting  the  towns  and  cities  of  England  as  he  did  those 
of  Asia  Minor  eighteen  centuries  ago,  in  clear  and 
ringing  tones  he  would  preach  the  same  unchanging 
Gospel,  **  testifying  both  to  the  Jews,  and  also  to  the 
Gentiles,  repentance  toward  God,  and  faith  toward  our 
Lord  Jesus    Christ."     Repentance    and    faith.     Faith  and 


204  The    City    Youth, 

repentance.  I  do  not  say  which  is  first,  for  there  is  no 
true  faith  without  repentance,  and  there  is  no  true  repent- 
ance without  faith.  But  this  is  as  certain  as  the  voice 
of  God  can  make  it:  ** Except  ye  believe,  ye  cannot 
be  saved,"  and,  **  Except  ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  like- 
wise perish."  Now  God  bids  us  do  both,  and  He  would 
not  enjoin  them  if  they  were  impossible.  Salvation  is 
thus  brought  within  the  reach  of  every  one  of  you.  Here 
are  Bible  words  :  **  God  commandeth  all  men  everywhere 
to  repent;  "  "This  is  His  commandment,  that  ye  believe 
upon  His  Son  Jesus  Christ."  The  very  sternness  of  these 
ommands  has  always  seemed  to  me  encouraging.  What 
God  orders  me  to  do  must  be  possible  for  me  to  perform. 
He  does  not  mock  me,  by  bidding  me  do  what  cannot 
be  done.  I  have  heard  a  man  say,  "  Well,  I  cannot  be- 
lieve, and  I  cannot  give  up  such  and  such  sin  :  "  but  the 
**  cannot"  was  really  the  "will  not."  You  could,  if  you 
would.  The  difficulty  is  of  a  moral  kind.  None  the  less 
great  on  that  account,  it  is  true  :  but  then  the  Holy  Spirit 
is  ready  to  help  you  over  it,  and  all  the  responsibility  is 
yours.  God  is  waiting  to  meet  you,  and  to  "  work  in  you, 
both  to  will  and  to  do." 

Why  is  it,  that  every  one  of  you  is  not  **  a  man  in 
Christ "  }  It  is  possible,  that  some  of  you  are  held  back 
by  animal  passions  and  appetites.  You  know  you  ought 
to  be  a  Christian,  but  there  are  pleasures  of  the  flesh  which 
you  are  not  prepared  to  forego,  and  so  you  put  from  you 
the  hope  of  eternal  life.  Botanists  tell  us  of  a  singular 
plant,  called  the  Dioiiea  vittscipula,  the  leaf  of  which,  as 
soon  as  a  fly  alights  upon  it,  curls  over  and  kills  it,  crush- 
ing it  to  death.  Such  a  leaf  is  almost  every  form  of 
unlawful  pleasure.  In  the  worst  times  of  the  RomiJi 
Inquisition  there  used  to  be  a  horrible  form  of  punishment 
for  heretics,  called  "the  virgin's  kiss."     The  culprit  was 


A  3 fan  in   Christ,  205 

pushed  forward  to  kiss  an  image  of  the  virgin,  when,  lo, 
its  arms  immediately  enclosed  him  in  a  deadly  embrace, 
piercing  his  body  with  a  hundred  hidden  spikes.  Ah  ! 
have  not  some  of  you  found  sensual  indulgence  to  be  like 
that  beautiful  and  seennngly  harmless  figure  ?  You  yielded 
to  the  solicitation,  and  it  has  embraced  you  with  the  clasp 
of  death,  and  **  pierced  you  through  with  many  sorrows. 
Believe  me,  if  you  could  see  sin  as  it  really  is,  you  would 
no  more  be  caught  in  its  embrace  than  you  would  be 
hugged  by  a  leper.  Do  not  say  the  case  is  hopeless,  and 
that  you  must  yield  to  the  tempter.  **  God  is  able  to  make 
you  stand."  There  were  Josephs  even  in  the  court  of 
Egypt,  there  were  Daniels  in  Babylon,  there  were  Pauls 
amid  the  beasts  of  Ephesus,  and  there  are  young  men  in 
this  building,  who,  amid  frightful  storms  of  temptation, 
are  only  striking  their  roots  deeper  and  deeper  into  the 
soil  of  holy  principle.  By  God's  help,  dash  that  brim- 
ming cup  to  the  ground.  Sever  that  companionship  which 
you  know  is  leading  you  on  to  the  pit.  Fling  those  dice 
away  from  you  for  ever.  Tear  to  atoms  those  sheets  of 
unclean  literature.  Turn  your  back  upon  that  saloon  of 
questionable  amusement.  For,  be  well  assured  of  this, 
that,  indulging  in  these  things,  you  cannot  be  partakers  of 
Christ,  as  it  is  written,  "  So,  then,  they  that  are  in  the 
flesh  cannot  please  God/* 

A  couple  of  months  ago  a  locomotive  engine  was 
speeding  along  the  North  Welsh  line,  whilst  the  two  men 
who  were  in  it  lay  fast  asleep.  A  sharp-eyed  signalman, 
from  his  look-out  box,  was  alert  enough  to  see  how 
matters  stood,  and  without  an  instant's  delay  telegraphed 
in  advance  to  lay  a  fog-signal  on  the  line,  that  the  detona- 
tion might  rouse  the  sleepers.  Happily,  it  was  done  in 
time ;  and  startled  from  what  might  have  been  a  fatal 
slumber,  the  men  shut  off  steam,  reversed  the  engine,  and 


2o6  The  City  Youth, 

averted  a  terrible  calamity.  It  is  no  breach  of  charity 
to  suspect  that  some  of  you  are  hasting  on  to  destruc- 
tion, but  know  it  not,  for  your  conscience  is  asleep ; 
and  I  would  lay  a  fog-signal  on  the  line  that,  ere  you 
pass  another  mile,  the  crashing  sound  may  rouse  you  to 
your  danger,  as  you  hear  the  voice  of  eternal  truth  declar- 
ing :  "  If  ye  live  after  the  flesh,  ye  shall  die  !  " 

Or,  perhaps,  it  is  intellectual  difficulties  that  are  keeping 
you  back.  '*  Oh,"  says  one,  **  I  should  have  been  a  man 
in  Christ  long  ago,  but,  you  see,  there  are  some  things  in 
religion  which  my  mind  cannot  accept."  The  man  will 
not  admit  that  he  is  an  infidel.  He  is  mightily  offended  if 
I  call  him  an  atheist  or  a  sceptic.  Well,  what  are  you  ?  A 
Freethinker?  Perhaps  he  won't  accept  even  this  title. 
He  says,  *'  Well,  I  hold  liberal  views  in  religion."  And 
when  I  begin  to  question  him,  I  find  he  is  so  liberal,  that 
he  is  giving  up  every  doctrine,  every  truth,  giving  up  the 
Bible  itself,  giving  up  Christ,  giving  up  God,  giving  up 
immortality !  For,  if  you  once  begin  on  this  line,  you 
don't  know  where  to  stop. 

Oh,  man,  even  intellectually,  there  is  every  motive  to  be 
a  Christian  !  Religion  alone  raises  issues  and  contempla- 
tions fitting  our  highest  powers.  Apart  from  it,  life  is  but 
a  round  of  evanescent  trifles.  God  has  made  you  for 
something  grander  and  nobler  than  mere  physical  concerns, 
Even  the  old  heathen  poet,  Ovid,  wrote :  Os  homini  siiblim-: 
dedit  ccelumque  tiiei'i jussit ;  i.e.,  "  God  gave  man  a  counte- 
nance looking  upwards,  and  bade  him  fix  his  thoughts  or 
heaven."  **  Oh,  but,"  says  one,  '*  I  do  believe  in  God,  but 
I  follow  the  light  of  Nature."  Light  of  Nature  forsooth  ! 
They  have  the  light  of  Nature  in  China ;  they  have  it  in 
Patagonia ;  they  have  it  in  Burmah  ;  they  have  it  in  Turkey. 
Ah !  little  good  it  does  them.  Rich  soil,  exquisite  flowers, 
delicious   fruits,  glorious  mountains,  splendid  stars ;  but 


A  Man  m   Christ,  207 

no  civilisation,  no  homes,  no  happiness.  Is  there  any 
influence,  or  philosophy,  or  religion  upon  earth,  that  has 
developed  the  homo  as  the  Gospel  of  Jesus  has  done,  that 
has  drawn  out  all  that  is  best  and  noblest  in  humanity, 
and  set  man  upon  a  pedestal  of  dignity  and  power  ?  A 
man  is  never  so  much  and  truly  a  man,  as  when  he  is  "  a 
man  in  Christ." 

I  make  it  a  rule  never  to  introduce  politics  in  the 
pulpit,  and  I  do  not  mean  to  violate  that  rule  now  ;  but 
in  giving  you  the  testimony  of  the  present  Prime 
Minister  of  England  to  the  value  of  the  old-fashioned 
Gospel  of  your  forefathers,  I  quote  the  words  of  one  of 
the  most  brilliant  and  accomplished  men  whom  the  world 
has  yet  produced,  a  man  whose  marvellous  intellectual 
gifts  are  only  equalled  by  the  grandeur  of  his  moral  cha- 
racter. Said  Mr.  Gladstone, — and  I  set  his  judgment 
against  that  of  all  the  philosophic  sceptics  and  freethinkers 
of  the  age : — "  Whatever  I  may  think  of  the  pursuits  of 
industry  and  science,  and  of  the  triumphs  and  glories  of 
art,  I  do  not  mention  any  one  of  these  things  as  the  great 
specific  for  alleviating  the  sorrows  of  human  life,  and 
encountering  the  evils  which  deface  the  world.  If  I  am 
asked  what  is  the  remedy  for  the  deeper  sorrows  of  the 
human  heart,  what  a  man  should  chiefly  look  to  in  his 
progress  through  life,  as  the  power  that  is  to  sustain  him 
under  trials,  and  enable  him  manfully  to  confront  his 
afilictions,  I  must  point  to  something  very  different — Lo 
something  which,  in  a  well-known  hymn,  is  called  'The 
Old,  Old  Story,'  told  of  in  an  old,  old  Book,  and  taught 
with  an  old,  old  teaching,  which  is  the  greatest  gift  ever 
given  to  mankind." 

Happy  the  nation  whose  Premier  is  not  ashamed  to 
bear  such  a  testimony !  I  am  thankful  for  it  just  now. 
The   conflict   between   faith  and  scepticism  is   assumng 


2o8  The  City   Youth, 

an  alarming  character.  The  prevailing  current  of  our 
modern  philosophy  is  opposed  to  revealed  religion  :  and 
many  men,  whose  names  stand  high  in  the  scientific 
world,  shake  their  heads  at  every  mention  of  the  super- 
natural ;  whilst  a  large  number  of  journalists  give  wide 
circulation  to  every  argument  against  Christianity.  En- 
couraged by  this,  there  are  young  men  weak  enough  to 
say,  **  Oh,  father's  religion  was  all  a  delusion !  There's 
nothing  in  it  after  all ;  it  v/ill  not  stand  the  light  of  scien- 
tific investigation." 

And- what  is  the  result.^  Do  these  men,  so  intel- 
lectually superior  to  their  brethren,  and  so  far  above 
the  level  of  young  men's  Christian  associations,  and 
•  everything  of  that  sort — do  they  immediately  give  them- 
selves to  noble  and  elevating  pursuits  .^  Do  we  fmd  them 
foremost  in  efforts  to  relieve  the  destitute,  to  instruct 
the  ignorant,  and  to  lift  the  squalid  little  ones  out  of  the 
gutter  of  degradation .?  By  no  manner  of  means.  Such 
heroic  and  philanthropic  work  is  left  for  the  followers  of 
Jesus  ;  whilst  the  proud  rejectors  of  the  Gospel  think  only 
of  selfish  gratification,  and  shaking  themselves  loose  of 
the  wholesome  restraints  of  religion,  exclaim,  **  Let  us 
break  his  bands  asunder,  and  cast  away  his  cords  from  us." 
"  He  that  sitteth  in  the  heavens  shall  laugh  ;  the  Lord 
shall  have  them  in  derision."  Ah !  I  have  known  young 
men  in  this  very  church,  who  at  one  time  seemed  to  be  in 
Christ,  and  were  vigorously  engaged  in  Christian  work. 
They  abandoned  the  faith  ;  at  once  gave  up  all  their  self- 
denying  labours,  and  are  now  sinking  in  the  vortex  of 
moral  wretchedness  and  despair.  Just  opposite  where  I 
w^as  staying  on  the  coast  of  North  Wales,  there  was  picked 
up  an  empty  bottle,  in  which  was  found  a  morsel  of  paper, 
apparently  torn  out  of  an  old  account  book ;  and  on  the 
paper   these   words   were   written,   evidently  in    a   young 


A  Man  in   Ck>2st,  209 

man's  handwriting:  "Sinking  fast  in  Lat.  53°.  Send 
this  to  my  father  in  Norfolk."  (The  address,  as  well 
as  the  names  of   the  writer  and  the  vessel,  were  given.) 

And,  oh !  how  many  a  sad  message,  telling  of  moral 
shipwreck,  might  be  sent  from  the  latitude  of  this  city! 
How  many  a  young  man,  foundering  in  the  abyss  of 
infidelity  or  lust,  might  have  written  from  London  such 
a  slip  as  this: — "Lat.  50°  30'  N.,  and  long.  5°  48' 
W.     Sinking  fast ;  Send  to  my  father  in ." 

If  any  of  you  are  in  peril,  God  grant  you  may  be  rescued 
to-night !  The  lifeboat  is  at  hand — the  same  that  has 
saved  millions  such  as  you.  The  name  of  that  lifeboat 
is  Christ !  Won't  you  step  in  at  once,  and  be  safe  ? 
Paul  never  had  reason  to  regret  his  doing  so.  For 
more  than  fourteen  years  he  had  been  in  Christ,  and  every 
year  confirmed  his  confidence  in  his  Saviour.  I  hear  him 
shouting,  "  There  is  now  therefore  no  condemnation 
to  them  that  are  in  Christ  Jesus  1  "  Ah !  some  of  you, 
dear  fellows,  can  "  sing  of  His  mighty  love,  mighty  to 
.save."  I  have  known  you  as  "men  in  Christ,"  if  not  for 
fourteen,  at  least  for  two,  or  four,  or  seven  years,  and  you 
have  found  Him  worthy  of  your  trust.  You  may  not  have 
had  visions  like  the  Apostle,  nor  been  w^afted  to  the  third 
heavens  of  seraphic  rapture ;  but  you  have  felt  the  peace, 
the  joy,  the  strength  which  Jesus  gives  ;  and  you  permit 
me  to  say,  as  I  now  do  in  closing,  to  as  many  here  as  are 
not  yet  "  men  in  Christ"  (endorsing  with  my  feeble  words 
the  testimony  of  the  greatest  statesman  of  the  age),  if  there 
is  one  thing  that  can  prepare  you  to  encounter  the  trials 
of  life,  to  brave  its  difficulties,  and  overcome  its  tempta- 
tions,— one  thing  that  can  nerve  you  for  duty,  and  comfort 
you  in  trouble, — it  is  neither  wealth,  nor  fame,  nor  art,  nor 
science,  but  "the  old,  old  story"  of  the  Gospel,  and  the 
knowledge  of  Him  who  is  the  living  centre  of  it. 

14 


KEEPING    THE   HEART   WITH  DILIGENCE. 


*'■  Keep  thy  heaj't  with  ail  diligence:  for  out  of  it  are  t/ie  issuer  of 
///^."--Pko VERBS  iv.  23. 


XV. 

KEEPING   THE  HEART  WITH  DILIGENCE. 

OF  all  the  proverbs  that  fell  from  the  pen  of  Solomon, 
this  is  one  of  the  most  memorable  and  important. 

Suitable  for  every  age,  and  for  every  condition,  it  is — as 
indeed  it  was  intended  to  be — specially  suitable  for  young 
men.  We  all  have  our  share  of  temptations,  but  it  is  not 
too  much  to  say  that  you  are  exceptionally  exposed  to 
danger.  The  devil  arti'ully  sets  his  snares  to  entrap  you. 
You  need  to  be  particularly  weitchful,  and  thoroughly  pre- 
pared for  your  adversary. 

He  lays  siege  to  every  part  of  your  being ;  but  it  is  the 
heart  that  he  mainly  seeks  to  capture.  You  may  observe 
that  in  this  chapter  the  wise  man  points  to  several  parts 
of  your  frame  that  must  be  guarded  with  especial  care. 

Verse  24,  "  Put  away  from  thee  a  froward  mouth,  and 
perverse  lips  put  far  from  thee.  Let  thine  eyes  look  right 
on,  and  let  thine  eyelids  look  straight  before  thee.  Ponder 
the  path  of  thy  feet,  and  let  all  thy  ways  be  established." 

Thus  heart,  mouth,  lips,  eyes,  feet — each  and  all  need 
to  be  carefully  guarded  ;  but  it  is  supremely  and  pre- 
eminently necessary  to  guard  the  first  of  these ;  hence  he 
says,  **  Keep  thy  heart  with  all  diligence,"  or,  as  you  read 
in  the  margin,  "above  all  keeping." 

That  is  to  say,  give  especial  and  exceptional  care  to  tlie 
cubtody  of  thy  heart;  and  he  adds  a  good  reason  for  this 


214  The  City  Youih 

advice  :  **  for  out  of  it  are  the  issues  of  life/'  The  tone  of 
your  character;  the  forces  of  your  being;  the  influences 
which  you  wield ;  the  work  you  will  accomplish ;  all 
«  are,  to  an  enormous  extent,  determined  by  the  condition 
of  your  heart.  As  the  fountain  is  more  important  than 
the  streams  that  flow  forth  from  it ;  as  the  reservoir  is  of 
more  consequence  than  the  conduit-pipes;  as  the  root  is 
of  more  moment  than  the  branches ;  as  the  metropolis 
is  more  important  than  the  towns  and  villages  scattered 
over  the  provinces :  so  the  heart  exceeds  in  importance 
every  other  part  of  our  complex  being  ;  for  from  it  comes 
the  vital  force  that  controls  and  energises  all.  Were  I  a 
physician  or  anatomist,  I  could  easily  show  that,  from  a 
physical  point  of  view,  the  text  is  literally  true  ;  but  it  is 
not  less  true  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  sense  in  which  the 
wiiter  meant  it. 

Now  let  us  all  see  if  we  can  get  some  real  practical 
good  out  of  this  pithy  aphorism  of  King  Solomon. 

The  first  thing  that  strikes  me,  as  I  look  into  the  text,  is 
that  some  of  you?-  hearts  are  not  ivorth  keeping. 

MetLinks  the  very  best  thing  you  can  do  is  to  get  rid 
of  them  as  soon  as  possible.  I  am  speaking  in  the  hear- 
ing of  some  unconverted  men,  and  I  say  the  sooner  you 
get  a  new  heart  the  better.  God  is  very  plain  in  telling 
us  no  good  can  come  out  of  these  corrupt,  degenerate 
hearts  that  we  all  have  by  nature.  I  daresay  there  are 
many  here  who  have  only  too  much  reason  to  suspect  that 
their  hearts  are  not  as  yet  right  with  God.  The  Prophet 
Zechariah's  words  are  perhaps  only  too  accurate  a  descrip- 
tion of  you.  He  says,  "They  refused  to  hearken,  and 
pulled  away  the  shoulder,  and  stopped  their  ears  that  they 
should  not  hear.  Yea,  they  made  their  hearts  as  an 
adamant  stone,  lest  they  should  hear  the  words  which  the 
Lord  of  Hosts  sent  by  His  Spirit."     That  adamant  heart 


Keeping  the  Heart  with  Diligence',       215 

can  never  receive  the  saving  truth  of  the  Gospel,  nor  feel 
the  love  of  Christ.  I  do  not  ask  you  to  i.eep  it ;  I  bid 
you  get  rid  of  it  as  fast  as  you  can. 

And  if  there  is  within  you  but  the  feeblest  desire  after 
God,  here  is  His  message  to  you.  **  A  new  Heart  will  I  give 
you,  and  a  new  spirit  will  I  put  within  you.  I  will  take 
away  the  stony  heart  out  of  your  flesh,  and  I  will  give  you 
a  heart  of  flesh."  Remember,  no  patching  up  or  repiiring 
of  the  old  Adam  will  do  ;  you  must  get  a  new  xiature.,  "  Ye 
must  be  born  again." 

There  is  a  vast  amount  of  precious  tinif  iC/Si.  a  great 
part  indeed  of  many  a  man's  lifetime  thrown  d'f^Tf  in  vain 
efforts  to  get  some  good  out  of  an  unregencra^-e  heart,  to 
amend  the  character  and  life,  to  do  better  for  the  future, 
to  turn  over  a  new  leaf,  without  first  of  all  getting  a 
radical  change  within. 

If  every  page  of  the  book  is  soiled,  to  what  purpose  is 
it  to  turn  the  leaf  ?  Ah !  I  have  known  men  spend  ten, 
fifteen,  twenty  of  the  best  years  of  their  life  in  this 
hopeless  business,  only  to  give  it  up  in  despair ;  and  then 
they  came — ^just  where  I  would  have  every  unconverted 
brother  here  to  come — to  that  Divine  and  Almighty 
Saviour,  who  is  ready  to  bless,  and  who  says,  **A  new 
heart  I  will  give  you." 

Surely,  a  heart  is  not  worth  keeping  or  repairing,  of 
which  Christ  says,  as  He  says  of  every  natural  man — "  Out 
of  the  heart  proceed  evil  thoughts,  murders,  adulteries, 
fornications,  thefts,  false  witness,  blasphemies."  The  idea 
of  wishing  to  retain  a  heart  like  that !  Why,  there  is  not 
a  horrible  thing,  but  the  seed  of  it  is  within  us ;  and  the 
first  thing  we  have  to  see  to  is,  that  we  are  made  new 
creatures  in  Christ  Jesus. 

Oh,  weigh  this  matter  well  ;  for  many  is  the  man  that 
has  gone  on  stumbling  to  thirty,  forty,  fifty,  and  sixtv  VL\'irs 


2i6  The  City  Youth, 

of  age,  trying  all  the  time  to  live  a  Christian  life,  but 
failing,  because  he  did  not  start — where  every  sinner  who 
is  to  be  saved  must  start — at  the  foot  of  Calvary's  cross, 
pleading  with  God  for  that  which  is  never  sought  in  vain, 
a  new  and  heavenly  nature.  There  are  plenty  of  men  in 
these  days  who,  as  Jeremiah  says,  would  "  heal  the  hurt  of 
the  soul  slightly."  They  are  loud  about  cultivating  the 
intellect,  directing  the  principles,  elevating  the  tastes,  and 
regulating  the  habits;  but  it  is  all  useless,  unless  you 
begin  at  the  heart.  If  the  reservoir  from  which  our 
houses  are  supplied  with  water  contain  some  poisonous 
fluid,  what  should  we  think  of  the  sagacity  of  the  counsel- 
lor who  advised  laying  down  new  pipes,  or  fitting  up  fresh 
cisterns,  or  introducing  a  newly-invented  species  of  stop- 
cock ?  All  would  be  in  vain  till  the  fountain  head  itself 
were  made  pure.  So,  you  may  lay  down  excellent  rules 
for  your  daily  life ;  you  may  resolve  to  do  this,  and  abstain 
from  that,  and  fashion  your  conduct  according  to  some 
faultless  standard;  it  is  but  a  fruitless  endeavour,  until  you 
have  obtained  the  new  heart. 

But  now  I  am  going  to  suppose  that  this  primary  and 
fundamental  matter  has  been  attended  to,  and  that  a  good 
work  has  been  begun  within  you. 

It  may  be  but  a  spark  of  Divine  grace  you  possess,  but 
that  spark  will  never  die.  What  I  have  further  to  say,  will 
be  based  upon  the  assumption  that  you  do  know  some- 
thing, however  little,  of  the  reality  of  the  Christian  life. 

Availing  myself,  then,  of  what  seems  to  be  the  metaphor 
that  was  in  the  mind  of  Solomon,  namely,  the  idea  of  a 
reservoir  of  water  whose  streams  carry  life  and  blessing 
around,  there  are  four  pointed  applications  I  would  make 

of  this  text. 

And  first,  I  say,  that  inasmuch  as  "  out  of  the  heart  are 
the  issues  of  life,"  it  is  important  to  keep  the  reservoir  full. 


Keeping  the  Heart  with  Diligence.       217 

In  certain  towns  of  England,  during  the  past  two 
summers,  in  which  the  ramfall  has  been  abnormally  small, 
there  has  been  no  little  dread  of  a  famine  of  water. 
Families  have  been  placed  on  a  restricted  supply,  and  in 
every  possible  way  the  element  has  been  economised, 
because  the  water  in  the  reservoir  was  getting  low.  A  few 
weeks  more  of  drought,  we  were  told,  and  there  would  not 
be  a  gallon  left.  The  reservoir  was  insufficient  for  the 
purpose  it  had  to  serve.  One  of  the  most  beautiful  of 
promises  is  given  to  the  righteous  man  in  Isaiah  : — "  Thy 
soul  shall  be  like  a  spring  of  water,  whose  waters  fail 
not ;  "  a  brimming  fountain,  a  running-over  well. 

I  suppose  it  was  from  this  passage  that  our  Lord  was 
quoting  when  on  the  last,  the  great  day  of  the  feast.  He 
cried  aloud,  *'  He  that  believeth  on  Me,  as  the  Scripture 
hath  said,  out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  living  water." 
That  just  means,  in  the  style  of  Oriental  phraseology,  his 
very  soul  shall  be  a  teeming  reservoir  of  all  gracious 
thoughts  and  wholesome  influences. 

Now,  it  is  bad  enough  to  have  an  empty  head  (and 
empty  heads  are  not  unknown  amongst  us),  but  an  empty 
heart  is  worse  still.  For,  other  things  being  equal,  a  man's 
force  in  the  world  is  just  in  proportion  to  the  fulness  of 
his  heart. 

We  have  known  men  that  were,  seemingly,  without  heart, 
icy,  phlegmatic,  cynical,  unimpassioned  beings,  incapable 
of  a  really  warm  and  generous  impulse.  Such  men  are 
mere  ciphers  in  society ;  they  accomplish  no  good.  There 
maj^be  a  prim  correctness  about  their  behaviour;  but  as 
regards  any  moral  influence  in  the  world,  they  are  nobodies ; 
they  carry  no  momentum. 

Suppose  the  fires  of  a  locomotive  engine  are  out,  or 
nearly  out,  you  will  not  make  it  go  at  express  speed  by 
giving  it  a  fresh  coat  of  paint ;  but  you  may  as  well  think 


2i8  The  City  Youth. 

to  do  so,  as  expect,  by  any  outward  culture,  to  make  one 
who  is  destitute  of  heart  a  real  power  in  the  world. 

Heart  is  power.  There  may  be  no  genius,  there  may  be 
but  slender  intellectual  acquirements,  there  may  be  very 
limited  knowledge ;  yet,  if  there  be  a  full  and  gracious 
heart,  charged  with  zeal,  and  fervour,  and  enthusiasm,  the 
man  will  make  his  impress  on  those  around  him.  Better 
even  the  mistakes  and  blunders  of  an  earnest  man,  w^hose 
pulse  beats  strong,  and  whose  soul  is  full  up  to  the  brim 
and  running  over,  than  the  cold  correctness  of  one  who 
never  feels  deeply  about  anything. 

Oh,  sirs,  it  is  the  emptiness  of  the  heart  that  makes  us  so 
feeble.  I  have  noticed  that  young  men  in  business  gener- 
ally make  but  a  poor  job  of  it,  if  they  do  not  throw  their 
whole  heart  and  soul  into  the  work  they  are  at ;  ten  to  one, 
they  will  potter  away  for  a  year  or  two,  and  then  give  it 
up  in  despair.  So  with  any  branch  of  study  you  wish  to 
acquire  (and  every  intelligent  commercial  man  should  keep 
up  his  reading,  and  his  thinking,  and  carry  forward  the 
culture  of  his  mind)  ;  if  you  are  giving  your  spare  time  to 
some  department  of  literature,  or  the  acquisition  of  some 
foreign  language,  go  at  it  with  all  the  energy  you  possess  ; 
only  thus  will  you  meet  with  success. 

Ah  !  but  this  is  specially  important  in  that  one  thing  in 
which  most  people  betray  least  heart  of  all ;  in  religion. 

Verily,  we  all  want  more  heart  in  our  Master's  service. 
Some  of  you  are  doing  a  good  work  in  the  mission  district, 
or  in  the  Sunday  School,  or  in  some  other  sphere  equally 
good  and  useful  ;  but  at  times  you  feel  flat  and  languid, 
and  cannot  get  yourselves  up  to  the  mark  of  active  energy  ; 
why  ?  Ah  !  my  friends,  the  service-pipe  would  give  out 
plenty  of  water  if  the  heart  were  full.  God  give  us  all  big 
hearts,  filled  to  the  brim  with  love  and  holy  zeal. 

Secondly.     Seeing  that  out  of  the   heart   are  the  issues 


Keeping  the  Heart  with  Diligefice,       2ig 

of  life,  s/rwe  with  all  diligence  to  keep  it  pure.  A  full 
reservoir  is  not  enough  ;  the  water  must  be  clean.  It  is 
of  no  use  our  having  new  pipes  in  our  houses,  and  fresh 
mains  under  the  streets,  unless  the  source  from  which  the 
supply  comes  is  pure.  Dr.  Frankland  tells  us  in  his  weekly- 
report  every  Wednesday  whether  or  not  our  London  water 
is  fit  to  drink,  whether  it  contains  solid  matter  and  live 
organisms,  or  not ;  but,  when  it  is  bad,  he  does  not  bid  us 
look  to  our  pipes,  but  bids  the  companies  look  to  the  supply. 
At  times  it  is  not  exactly  faultless ;  and  I  remember 
a  gentleman  remarking  he  could  stock  a  fairly  good 
aquarium  with  the  animal  life  that  was  found  in  his  own 
cistern. 

A  good  deal  of  just  indignation  has  been  awakened- 
on  account  of  the  character  of  the  water  supplied  to  some 
parts  of  East  London ;  but  nobody  proposes  to  blame 
the  plumbers,  nor  tear  up  the  street  mains ;  for  the 
mischief  lies  further  back  than  that.  A  foul  reservoir 
means  spreading  the  seeds  of  pestilence  and  death. 

Precisely  so ;  if  the  heart  be  not  pure,  you  may  be  cer- 
tain the  thoughts  will  not  be  pure,  nor  the  conversation, 
nor  the  life.  You  had  need  to  have  pure  hearts,  my 
brothers ;  else  there  is  not  a  chance  for  you  in  this 
metropolis. 

Now,  the  thought  I  have  here  is  the  importance  of  a 
scrupulous  conscience,  and  thorough  transparency  of 
character.  You  sometimes  hear  persons  say  of  such  an 
individual,  *'  I  like  that  man  ;  he  is  so  true  and  straight- 
forward ;  one  can  see  him  through  and  through."  Such  a 
nature  is  always  attractive ;  a  nature  that  loathes  duplicity 
or  double-dealing  in  any  form,  that  scorns  prevarication 
and  inuendos,  but  must  always  be  open  and  candid  in 
everything.  If  the  heart  of  a  man  lacks  this  quality,  it 
will   soon   show  itself  in   his  books,   in  his  accounts,   in 


220  The  City   Youth, 

his  mode  of  transacting  business ;  and  will  be  a  constant 
source  of  moral  weakness. 

God  knows  there  are  scores  of  men  going  about  London 
that  are  just  big  shams,  complete  in-takes ;  they  are  all 
**  made-up  ; "  there  is  nothing  genuine  or  real  about  them. 
The  transparent  man  will  be  above-board  in  everything, 
and  particularly  in  regard  to  his  religion. 

If  you  are  a  Christian,  never  be  ashamed  to  show  your 
colours.  It  is  a  cowardly  thing  for  a  youth,  v/ho  has 
been  on  his  knees  and  read  his  chapter  in  the  morning, 
to  take  his  dinner  in  yonder  chop-house  in  the  City, 
without  so  much  as  asking  God's  blessing  on  his  food. 
Did  you  ever  count  how  many  out  of  thirty  young  fellows 
seated  at  some  of  those  tables,  had  principle  enough, 
and  courage  enough,  first  of  all,  to  acknowledge  the 
Giver  of  all  good  ?  What  is  our  religion  worth,  if  we 
are  frightened  out  of  it  by  a  look  or  a  sneer? 

God  help  you  to  be  brave  and  fearless,  where  principle 
is  at  stake  ;  ay,  and  glad  of  the  opportunity,  not  to  parade 
your  piety,  but  to  bear  your  testimony. 

Thirdly.  I  have  just  this  to  say  in  conclusion  :  Keep 
your  heart  tnmquil ;  seek  to  have  a  soul  calm,  and  peace- 
ful, and  at  rest. 

We  live  in  a  fast,  feverish,  exciting  age.  With  large 
numbers  of  commercial  men  the  pulse  beats  too  swiftly, 
the  nerves  are  overstrained,  the  mind  is  held  on  the  rack  ; 
and  this  state  of  things  is  far  from  favourable,  either  to 
bodily  or  spiritual  health. 

Be  assured,  unless  the  heart  is  kept  in  peace,  the  life 
will  not  be  liappy. 

The  state  of  the  heart  has  far  more  to  do  with  one's 
comfort,  and  prosperity,  and  success,  than  most  people 
imagine. 

Oh,  it  is  a  ^rnnd  thing  to  know  the  meaning  of  that 


Keeping  the  Heart  with  Diligence,       221 

promise,  **Thou  wilt  keep  him  in  perfect  peace,  whose 
mind  is  stayed  on  Thee."  When  Josias  Wilson  was 
minister  of  this  church,  he  observed  one  Sunday,  sitting 
opposite  him  in  yonder  gallery,  a  good  man,  whom  he 
knew  to  be  in  a  world  of  trouble  ;  and  he  gave  out  the 
hymn  (reading  it  with  impressive  emphasis,  as  he  looked 
straight  into  the  man's  face) — 

"  Trust  in  the  Lord,  for  ever  trust. 
And  banish  all  your  fears." 

It  was  like  a  voice  from  heaven  to  the  man ;  he  went 
home  strengthened,  and  **  encouraged  himself  (like  David) 
in  the  Lord  his  God."  You  are  all  but  certain  to  meet 
with  troubles.  Most  likely  some  of  you  will  get  sadly 
knocked  about  in  the  world,  you  will  meet  with  reverses 
and  disappointments,  but  a  heart  that  is  fixed  on  God  can 
bear  all  these  things  with  equanimity. 

In  the  end  of  my  Bible  there  is  a  map  of  Egypt  and 
Palestine,  and  drawn  across  it  there  is  a  curious  line  in  red 
ink,  denoting  the  journey  of  God's  covenant  people  through 
the  desert  to  the  Promised  Land.  You  never  saw  a  more 
strange  and  fantastic  scratch. 

I  put  a  pen  into  my  infant's  hand,  and  she  says,  **  Papa, 
I  will  write  a  letter :  "  and — if  you  only  saw  such  a  queer 
zigzag  scrawl !  But  is  not  the  pathway  of  the  Lord's 
chosen  just  such  a  track  ?  As  Moses  sang  in  his  dying 
song,  **  He  led  them  about,  and  instructed  them."  Ay, 
but  the  red  track  comes  out  at  Canaan.  My  Christian 
brother,  your  pathway  is  wisely  traced  out  for  you,  yes, 
and  in  crimson  too,  for  the  bleeding  Saviour  has  gone 
before. 

Have  faith  in  God,  and  leave  your  future  with  Him.  If 
you  have  Him  for  your  Friend,  your  heart  should  never  be 
disquieted  about  earthly  things.     I  remember  a  story  of 


222  The  City   Youth, 

a  Swiss  martyr,  who,  on  the  day  of  his  execution, — he  was 
burned  at  the  stake, — ^just  before  the  fire  was  kindled, 
craved  permission  to  say  a  word  to  the  judge  who  had 
condemned  him.  In  the  presence  of  all  the  people,  he 
addressed  him  thus :  *'  Sir,  I  have  but  one  last  request  to 
make,  and  it  is  that  you  will  now  approach,  and  place  your 
hand  first  upon  my  heart,  and  then  upon  your  own,  and 
tell  this  multitude  which  of  the  two  beats  most  violently." 
I  need  not  say  the  judge  dared  not  fulfil  the  request,  but, 
full  of  rage,  gave  instant  command  to  light  the  pile. 

Ah !  my  dear  friends,  may  God  help  each  of  you, 
with  all  diligence,  to  keep  your  heart  full,  and  pure,  and 
transparent,  and  tranquil,  and,  from  it,  as  from  a  clear 
mountain  spring,  there  shall  issue  influences  of  health  and 
benediction,  to  gladden  your  own  lives,  and  to  bless  all 
around  you !     Amen. 


THE    RASH  PENKNIFE. 


*^  And  it  came  to  pass  that,  when  Jehudi  had  read  three  or  four 
leaves,  J ehoiakim  ait  it  with  the  penknife,  and  cast  it  into  the  fire.''^ — 
Jeremiah  xxxvi.  23. 


XVI. 

THE  RASH  PENKNIFE. 

ON  a  recent  occasion  I  spoke  to  you  of  one  of  the 
best  men  of  the  Bible ;  this  evening  I  am  to  speak 
of  one  of  the  worst.  On  that  occasion  we  had  before  us 
the  good  son  of  a  bad  father;  to-night  we  have  before  us 
the  bad  son  of  a  good  father.  I  find  it  much  more  easy  and 
pleasant  to  speak  to  you  of  a  very  godly  man  than  of  a  very 
wicked  one  ;  and  in  most  of  these  monthly  addresses  I 
have  been  tempted  to  take  for  my  subject  such  men  as 
Joseph,  and  David,  and  Jonathan,  and  Solomon,  and 
Josiah,  and  Timothy ;  but  it  won't  do  to  confine  ourselves 
to  these ;  there  are  bad  men  prominent  in  Scripture-story 
as  well  as  good,  and  if  the  latter  have  been  set  up  for 
our  example,  none  the  less  have  the  former  been  set  up 
for  our  warning.  I  come  in  contact  with  so  many  truly 
earnest  Christian  young  men,  men  who  set  their  faces  like 
a  flint  against  every  form  of  iniquity,  and  are  unwearied 
in  their  efforts  to  do  good,  that  I  forget  how  many  there 
are  of  an  opposite  character,  who,  though  they  know  what 
is  right,  keep  outside  of  all  our  churches,  or  if  they  drop 
in  to  attend  a  service,  never  allow  themselves  to  be  known, 
never  identify  themselves  with  the  Church  of  Christ,  never 
come  clean  over  to  the  Lord's  side.  As  a  matter  of  course, 
the  minister  cannot  know  them  ;  they  are  afraid  to  be 
"  caught,"  as  they  foolishly  put  it ;  they  think  they  will 


2  26  The  Ctiy   Youth, 

have  more  liberty  if  they  keep  themselves  disconnected 
with  a  regular  congregation.  My  dear  friends  (for  I  know 
there  are  many  of  you  here),  it  is  a  great  mistake.  Do 
you  think  that  God  would  have  founded  a  Church  upon 
the  earth  if  it  were  not  necessary  ?  Do  you  think  you 
can  be  as  strong  to  face  the  difficulties  and  battles  of 
life  standing  alone,  as  if  you  were  united  with  a  band 
of  Christian  brothers  ?  Do  you  think  your  inner  life  can 
prosper  whilst  you  have  no  fellowship  with  the  saints  ? 
Some  of  you  have  come  from  a  godly  home,  and  from  a 
place  where  the  Sabbath  is  kept  holy ;  and  there  is  a 
sort  of  freedom  you  are  conscious  of  in  London,  freedom 
to  do  as  you  like,  no  one  watching  you,  no  one  observing 
you :  and  you  fancy  that  freedom  will  be  impaired  if  you 
come  and  give  us  a  shake  of  your  hand,  and  throw  your- 
self into  the  interest  and  work  of  a  living  active  Church. 

Not  in  the  least,  my  friend.  Of  course,  if  you  wish  to 
lead  the  life  of  the  libertine,  if  you  are  going  to  plunge 
into  vice  and  folly,  and  sell  your  soul  for  a  little  short- 
lived earthly  pleasure,  you  may  quite  as  well  keep  away ; 
but  if  you  desire  to  live  a  manly,  honourable,  and  useful 
life ;  if  you  are  disposed  to  listen  to  the  united  voices  of 
reason,  of  conscience,  of  the  Bible,  and  of  the  Spirit  of 
God  (all  of  which  voices  are  urging  you  to  choose  the 
path  of  truth  and  virtue,  and  temperance  and  piety) :  then 
by  all  means  come  and  join  us,  for,  in  the  words  of  Moses 
to  Hobab,  we  have  to  say  to  you,  *' We  are  journeying 
unto  the  place  of  which  the  Lord  said,  I  will  give  it  to 
you  ;  come  thou  with  us,  and  we  will  do  thee  good ;  for 
the  Lord  hath  spoken  good  concerning  Israel." 

But  you  say,  what  has  all  this  to  do  with  the  text  ?  We 
shall  see  that  immediately.  The  main  thing  brought  before 
us  here  is  the  fearful  career  of  one  who  wilfully  resisted  the 
irtriving  of  the  Spirit  of  God  ;  and  I  propose,  in  the  first 


The  Rash  Pe?ikni/e,  227 

place,  to  bring  the   story  before  you,  and  then  to  draw 
from  it  the  solemn  lessons  it  suggests. 

Well,  then,  it  is  the  cold  month  of  December.  Jchoia- 
kim  is  sitting  in  one  of  the  rooms  of  his  splendid  winter- 
palace  at  Jerusalem,  and  a  company  of  his  lords  and 
senators  are  with  him.  A  warm  fire  is  blazing  on  the 
hearth.  As  they  sit  chatting  together  in  lively  conversa- 
tion, and  not  improbably  flushed  with  wine,  a  messenger 
named  Jehudi  enters,  carrying  in  his  hand  a  roll,  consist- 
ing of  several  pieces  of  parchment,  and  immediately 
proceeds  to  read  it  aloud  to  the  king.  The  royal  group 
bend  forward  to  listen.  Every  eye  is  fixed — every  ear  is 
strained  ;  all  know  that  it  is  a  Divine  prediction,  which 
has  come  through  the  lips  of  the  prophet  Jeremiah. 
Baruch,  the  scribe,  had  taken  it  down  at  his  dictation ; 
and  now  Jehudi  is  reading  it  aloud,  word  for  word.  Watch 
the  countenance  of  King  Jehoiakim.  See  how  the  frown 
gathers  on  his  brow.  His  cheeks  become  pale  with  rage 
— his  lips  are  compressed.  He  stamps  his  foot  upon  the 
floor,  and,  rising  up  in  haste,  snatches  the  roll  out  of 
Jehudi's  hand,  cuts  and  hacks  it  in  pieces  with  his  knife, 
and  then  thrusts  the  tattered  vellum  into  the  blazing  fire, 
gazing  on  it  with  vindictive  fury,  until  it  is  consumed  to 
ashes  on  the  hearth.  Poor,  silly  Jehoiakim  1  As  though 
^he  hacking  and  burning  of  the  roll  would  hinder  the 
judgments  it  predicted. 

But,  the  whole  case  is  so  remarkable,  I  must  take  you 
back  a  little,  and  tell  you  something  of  the  history  of  this 
infatuated  young  man,  whose  career  of  wickedness  began 
by  despising  the  religion  of  his  good  father  Josiah,  and 
reached  its  climax  by  hacking  the  Bible  with  his  penknife, 
and  pitching  it  into  the  fire.  Yes,  he  had  one  of  the 
best  of  fathers.  In  all  the  annals  of  the  kings  of  Judah, 
there  is  not  a  name  that  commands  more  respect  than 


2  28  The  City   Youth, 

that  of  Josiah.  From  his  early  boyhood  to  the  close  of 
his  life,  he  was  a  devout,  humble  follower  of  the  Lord. 
For  thirty-one  years  he  reigned  over  Judah,  and  during 
all  that  period  set  a  noble  example  to  his  people,  and 
sought  and  obtained  the  blessing  of  Heaven.  I  shall  not 
stay  just  now  to  inquire  how  it  was  that,  on  the  death  of 
Josiah,  Jehoiakim's  brother,  by  name  Jehoahaz,  was  raised 
to  the  throne.  But  so  it  was,  that  he  was  preferred  by  the 
people.  It  was  not  long,  however,  that  he  was  destined 
to  reign.  Foolish  youth,  he  turned  his  back  on  all  the 
good  precepts  and  the  holy  example  of  his  father ;  and  the 
crash  came  very  quickly.  Listen  to  the  brief  story. 
*' Jehoahaz  was  twenty  and  three  years  old  when  he  began 
to  reign,  and  he  reigned  three  months  in  Jerusalem  .  .  . 
and  he  did  that  which  was  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord." 
The  King  of  Egypt  sent  and  carried  him  off  a  captive  to  a 
foreign  land,  and  there  he  came  to  a  miserable  end. 

On  this,  Jehoiakim  became  king.  One  would  have 
thought  he  might  have  learnt  a  lesson  from  his  brother's 
fate.  When  he  compared  the  peace  and  prosperity  which 
his  godly  father  had  enjoyed  with  the  disasters  which  the 
wicked  Jehoahaz  had  brought  upon  himself,  even  common 
sense  might  have  prompted  him  to  choose  the  path  of 
righteousness.  But,  no ;  for  oh !  it  is  wonderful  how 
many  thousands  of  men,  at  the  outset  of  their  career,  are 
apparently  stone-blind  to  their  own  interest.  Even  putting 
the  claims  of  religion  out  of  the  question,  they  go  right  in  the 
teeth  of  their  future  welfare  and  advantage.  Positively, 
they  seem  intent  on  making  the  rope  that  is  to  strangle 
them.  I  have  marked  the  career  of  some  young  men, 
who  have  begun  life  with  good  prospects  and  high  promise  ; 
and,  verily,  if  ever  men  deliberately  committed  suicide, 
they  did.  Moral  suicide,  if  not  physical.  They  have  been 
cautioned  in  respect  to  certain  evil  cours:s,  and  they  have 


The  Rash  Pcnkiii/e,  2  2g 

run  into  them  with  their  eyes  open,  doing  their  utmost  to 
kill  conscience,  to  slay  their  moral  sense,  to  destroy  every 
good  aspiration  within  them,  and  they  have  succeeded. 
And  what  were  they  then  ?  Let  a  man's  conscience  be 
destroyed  ;  let  his  spiritual  instincts  (if  I  may  use  such  a 
term)  be  extinguished,  and  what  is  left  ?  He  may  be  a 
walking  human  automaton,  but  I  cannot  call  him  a  ??ian  / 

Sirs,  don't  forget  that  it  is  just  that  which  is  noblest  in 
you,  and  which  brings  you  nearest  to  God,  that  Satan 
tempts  you  to  trifle  with  and  destroy.  I  suppose  Jehoiakim 
intended,  after  a  while,  to  change  his  course,  and  walk  in 
the  steps  of  his  good  father.  Inhere  are  some  men  who 
think  they  can  serve  their  lusts,  and  serve  the  world  for 
a  few  years ;  and  then,  perhaps  at  thirty,  or  thirty-five,  or 
forty,  turn  right  round,  and  become  happy  Christians. 
They  will,  first  of  all,  squeeze  the  world  as  they  would  an 
orange,  and  get  out  of  it  all  the  sinful  enjoyment  they  can  ; 
and  then  rinse  the  mouth  with  repentance,  and  give  the 
rest  of  their  days  to  God. 

Of  all  the  follies  that  can  seize  a  young  man,  this  is 
the  worst.  It  is  a  red-hot  lie  of  hell.  You  are  just 
taking  that  course  now  which  you  are  going  to  pursue 
through  life.  Have  you  noticed,  that  in  the  long  list 
we  have  in  the  Old  Testament  of  the  Kings  of  Judah 
and  Israel,  the  first  thing  that  is  mentioned  concerning 
almost  every  one  of  them,  as  soon  as  the  name  is  given, 
is  simply  this  :  "And  he  did  that  which  was  right  in  the 
sight  of  the  Lord;"  or,  *' And  he  did  evil  in  the  sight 
of  the  Lord "  ?  Just  two  lines  of  rail,  one  leading  to 
the  right,  and  one  to  the  left ;  he  chose  one,  and  in  almost 
every  case  went  on  as  he  began,  and  pursued  it  to  ,the 
end.  Jehoiakim  chose  the  left,  and  it  proved  a  steep 
incline ;  with  quickening  pace,  and  without  a  halt,  he 
hastened  down  his  mad  career  of  God-defying  wickedness, 


230  The  City  Youth. 

until  he  tossed  away  from  him  every  serious  thought,  and 
at  last  defied  his  Maker  to  His  face,  and,  tearing  up  the 
very  Book  of  Heaven,  thrust  it  into  the  ashes  of  the  fire. 

But  I  am  anticipating.  This  is  what  he  would  not 
have  dared  to  do  at  the  beginning  or  in  the  middle  of  his 
career.  It  was  wilfully  neglected  warnings  that  hardened 
his  heart.  He  had  not  been  long  upon  his  throne,  before 
the  King  of  Babylon  came  up  to  Jerusalem  and  bound 
him.  The  wretched  man  is  held  fast  in  iron  chains. 
Poor  creature ;  the  meanest  of  his  subjects  would  not 
change  places  with  him.  In  all  likelihood,  he  is  to  be 
dragged  off  to  adorn  Nebuchadnezzar's  triumph  in  the 
streets  of  Babylon.  In  his  misery  he  cries  to  Heaven, 
and  God  has  mercy  upon  him.  The  heart  of  the  con- 
queror relents,  and  Jehoiakim  is  set  free.  His  position, 
indeed,  is  far  from  what  it  once  was  ;  still  it  is  one  of  com- 
parative comfort  and  ease.  How  will  he  use  it  ?  Another 
chance  is  given  him  ;  is  he  going  to  turn  over  a  new  leaf, 
and  walk  in  his  father's  steps  ?  Alas  !  there  is  not  a  trace 
even  of  a  wish  to  amend.  The  unhappy  youth  betrays  no 
sign  of  repentance.  All  his  troubles  have  failed  to  teach  him 
wisdom.    He  is  still  the  same  self-willed  reprobate  as  before. 

Surely,  God  will  now  give  him  over  to  destruction.  He 
will  leave  him  to  his  bitter  fate.  He  will  say,  *'  He  is 
joined  to  his  idols,  let  him  alone."  Oh,  how  wonderful  is 
the  Divine  forbearance  !  He  pursues  him  still  with  en- 
treaty and  warning.  As  I  gather  from  the  twenty- sixth 
chapter.  He  sends  the  prophet  Urijah,  to  expostulate  with 
the  infatuate  monarch.  But  how  does  Jehoiakim  deal  with 
him  }  He  seeks  to  get  hold  of  him  to  put  him  to  death  ; 
and, even  after  the  prophet  has  in  terror  fled  into  Eg}i)t, 
he  sends  after  him,  captures  him,  and,  apparently  by  his 
own  hand,  slays  him  with  the  sword.  Nay,  he  tries  to  get 
hold  of  Jeremiah  too,  but  the  Lord  preserves  him. 


The  Rash  Penhvfe.  231 

You  will  hardly  believe  it  possible  that,  after  this, 
Jehoiakim  should  have  space  for  repentance !  Ah  !  my 
dear  brothers,  there  is  nothing  in  the  world  so  wonderful 
as  the  longsuffering-  of  God.  Truly,  He  bears  long  with 
us.  Often  do  I  marvel  that  He  has  been  so  patient  with 
me.  We  may  look  with  astonishment  upon  this  Jewish 
monarch,  but  is  it  not  possible  that  some  of  you  have  so 
sorely  tried  and  strained  His  forbearance  }  And  yet  H3 
is  still  saying,  "  How  can  I  give  thee  up  ?  " 

Jehoiakim's  last  opportunity  was  now  to  come.  The  Spirit 
of  God  comes  upon  the  prophet  Jeremiah,  and  inspires  him 
with  a  message  from  Heaven.  Baruch,  the  scribe,  is  sum- 
moned, to  take  it  down  in  writing  from  his  lips.  I  see  him 
coming  to  the  prophet's  chamber  with  ink  and  pen  and 
sheets  of  parchment.  The  Divine  afflatus  conies  upon 
Jeremiah,  and  he  utters  strange  words,  full  of  awful  and 
alarming  significance,  which  Baruch  immediately  writes 
down  ;  and  when  the  message  is  finished,  he  rolls  up  the 
parchment,  and  at  Jeremiah's  orders  takes  it  to  the  court  of 
the  temple,  where  crowds  of  people  are  assembled  (for  it 
happens  to  be  the  day  of  a  great  fast),  and  reads  it  aloud 
in  the  hearing  of  the  multitude.  The  people  are  awed  and 
amazed.  One  of  them,  named  IMichaiah,  instantly  hastens 
off  to  the  palace,  and,  finding  a  number  of  the  princes 
gathered  together,  acquaints  them  with  what  has  taken 
j:)lace,  and  gives  them  the  substance  of  the  prophecy. 
They,  too,  are  filled  with  alarm,  and  say,  "We  will  surely 
tell   the  King  of  all  these  words." 

Presently,  one  of  these  is  commissioned  to  go  into  the 
monarch's  presence  and  inform  him.  Jehoiakim,  profess- 
ing great  indifiference,  has  yet  his  curiosity  roused,  and 
wishes  the  document  itself  to  be  brought  to  him.  So 
Jehudi  runs,  and  fetches  the  roll,  telling  of  the  awful 
judgments  that  are  about  to  descend  upon  the  throne  and 


232  The  City  Youth. 

upon  the  land,  and  proceeds  to  read  it  aloud  to  the  King. 
The  tragic  sequel  you  already  know ;  and  I  cannot  put  it 
more  concisely  than  in  the  words  of  the  text:  "And  it 
came  to  pass,  that  when  Jehudi  had  read  three  or  four 
leaves,  he  cut  it  with  his  penknife,  and  cast  it  into  the 
fire  that  was  on  the  hearth,  until  all  the  roll  was  con- 
sumed in  the   fire  that  was  on  the   hearth." 

So  Jehoiakim's  day  of  grace  closed.  In  that  moment  the 
door  of  mercy  was  shut  against  him  for  ever  !  His  doom 
was  sealed.  The  Spirit  of  God  was  quenched.  The  man 
was  given  up. 

Not,  observe,  that  his  life  was  ended  ;  he  lived  at 
least  four  years  after  this ;  but  he  had  sinned  away  his 
day  of  grace,  and  never  more  was  God  to  ply  him  with 
the  offers  of  mercy.  His  soul's  ruin  was  now  complete, 
and,  as  for  his  body,  it  was  only  waiting  to  be  cast — shall  I 
say  } — into  a  dishonoured  grave.  No,  not  even  this ;  "  His 
dead  body,"  said  the  prophet,  "  shall  be  cast  out,  in  the 
day  to  the  heat,  and  in  the  night  to  the  frost.  He  shall 
be  buried  with  the  burial  of  an  ass,  drawn,  and  cast  out 
beyond  the  gates  of  the  city." 

Here  ends  one  of  the  most  awful  careers  described  in 
the  Bible.  The  candle  burns  out,  and  is  extinguished  in 
smoke  and  stench  !  I  suppose  few  of  you  are  familiar 
with  the  story — a  story  so  full  of  solemn  warning,  and, 
therefore,  I  have  brought  it  before  you.  Young  men  ! 
unsaved  young  men,  I  hold  up  Jehoiakim  before  you,  and 
say,  Beware !  I  wish  I  were  now  only  beginning  my 
sermon,  for  there  is  little  time  left  to  dwell  upon  the 
lessons  which  this  subject  suggests.  Perhaps  you  will  bear 
with  me  if,  in  a  word  or  two,  I  point  out  the  chief  of 
them. 

I.  It  is  very  noticeable,  that  those  who,  in  their  early 
days,  have   resisted   holy    influences,    generally   turn    out   the 


71i2  Rash  Penknife,  233' 

viost  wicked  of  men.  This,  indeed,  is  a  fundamental  law 
of  character.  Just  as  a  good  man,  who  is  good  notwith- 
standing a  very  bad  upbringing,  and  despite  the  most 
pernicious  examples  around  him,  is  not  unfrequently  one 
of  the  best  of  men,  so  a  youth  who  has  come  from  a  godly 
home,  and  turns  out  evil  himself,  is  one  of  the  worst 
characters  you  can  meet  with. 

I  hardly  know  an  exception  to  this  rule.  Nor  can  you 
much  wonder  that  it  is  so.  I  say,  it  is  just  what  we  might 
expect.  When  a  man  deliberately  tramples  on  conviction, 
and  resists  the  dealings  of  God's  Spirit,  he  uses  the  most 
effectual  means  to  sear  his  conscience  and  harden  his 
heart.  If,  in  early  days,  you  have  been  hedged  round 
with  Christian  influences,  and  loving  counsels,  and  bright 
examples,  and  fervent  prayers :  and  you  have  withstood 
all  these  things,  you  are  just  the  person  most  likely  to 
make  a  rebound  to  the  other  extreme,  and  plunge  head- 
long into  gross  iniquity. 

It  is  an  awful  thing  to  say — but  it  is  true — that  some 
of  the  most  depraved  and  abandoned  young  men  in 
London  to-day  have  come  from  pious  homes,  and  are  the 
children  of  godly  parents.  I  seldom  preach  here  without 
having  in  my  audience  some  one  who  has  only  been  a  few 
weeks  in  town,  and  is  not  yet  *'  up "  to  its  habits  and 
ways.  And  when  he  gets  among  a  lot  of  young  fellows 
who  are  dashing  and  loose,  and  too  familiar  with  vice,  he 
feels  green,  stupid,  sheepish.  He  is  ashamed  that  he 
cannot  enter  into  their  ways;  ashamed  that  he  does  not 
understand  their  vocabulary,  that  one  glass  of  wine  makes 
him  giddy,  that  one  cigar  makes  him  sick ;  and  he  hopes 
he  will  soon  be  as  well  versed  as  these  sharp  blades  are, 
in  the  outs  and  ins  of  gay  city  life. 

What !  ashamed  of  innocence  !  ashamed  of  puritv ! 
ashamed  of  being  uncontaminated !     Silly  man  that  you 


234  The  City  Youth, 

are — this  is  what  you  should  rather  glory  in.  Look  here, 
sir;  if  there  is  any  real  manliness  in  you,  any  true 
courage  and  nobleness  of  character,  you  will,  in  your 
heart,  despise  those  flippant  fools,  who  are  treading  their 
jewel  in  the  mire;  you  will  thank  God,  from  the  depths 
of  your  soul,  that  you  know  so  little  of  their  ways ;  and 
your  vow  will  be,  '*  O  my  soul,  come  not  thou  into  their 
secret ;  unto  their  assembly,  mine  honour,  be  not  thou 
united."  But,  should  it  be  otherwise,  should  you  be 
caught  by  the  glare,  and  tempted  to  join  them  in  their 
career,  I  warn  you  that,  in  all  likelihood,  you  will  turn  out 
the  worst  of  the  lot,  and  your  end  will  be  more  speedy  and 
awful. 

II.  There  is  another  solemn  truth  I  wish  to  bring  before 
you,  and  it  is  this.  If  a  man^s  religion  is  not  genuine  and 
heart-deep^  it  often  happens  that  troubles  and  calamities  only 
drive  him  further  aivay  from  God.  What  effect  had  all  his 
misfortunes  and  disasters  upon  Jehoiakim  ?  Did  they 
soften  him  ?  Did  they  incline  him  to  a  better  course  of 
life  }     Not  a  bit.     He  grew  worse  than  ever. 

Now,  this  is  one  of  the  things  that  have  startled  me  much 
in  my  experience  as  a  minister.  It  has  happened  not  once, 
nor  twice,  but  over  and  over  again  before  my  eyes.  There 
have  been  men  here  who  bore  a  fair  character,  and  were 
even  engaged  in  Christian  work  :  and  trouble  has  fallen 
on  them,  business  has  collapsed,  their  monetary  affairs 
have  all  gone  wrong,  or  other  trials  have  come,  and  the 
immediate  effect  has  been  to  sour  them  against  religion 
and  against  God,  and  in  some  cases  to  send  them  right 
ever  into  the  abyss  of  infidelity.  Do  you  remember  what 
IS  written  of  King  Ahaz  ?  It  might  be  written  of  many  a 
one  besides  him.  **  In  the  time  of  his  distress  did  he 
trespass  yet  more  against  the  Lord."  Yes,  with  some 
men,  the  more  they  suffer  the  more  they  sin.     Adversity 


The  Rash  Penhiife.  235 

angers  them  against  God.  It  is  well  known  that  times  of 
pestilence,  whilst  they  have  brought  out  an  unwonted 
religious  earnestness  on  the  one  side,  have  brought  out  an 
unusual  amount  of  wickedness  on  the  other.  The  plague 
of  London  developed  the  vices  of  the  metropolis  to  a 
frightful  extent.  I\Ien  patrolled  the  streets  singing  ribald 
songs  beside  the  dead  cart.  When  a  ship  is  wrecked,  and 
about  to  go  to  the  bottom,  if  some  fall  on  their  knees  and 
pray,  others  fly  to  drink  and  cursing.  Nothing  is  a  truer 
touchstone  of  character  than  the  way  in  which  a  man 
treats  the  chastenings  of  God.  Don't  take  it  for  granted 
that  when  sickness  or  trouble  comes  to  you  it  will  lead 
you  to  Christ ;  it  is  quite  as  likely  it  may  drive  you  further 
from  Him  than  before. 

III.  There  is  yet  a  third  lesson  strikingly  taught  us  by 
the  story  of  Jehoiakim.  As  the  heart  gets  hardened  in  sin, 
there  is  a  groiving  unwillingness  to  listen  to  the  voice  of  God, 
It  is  not  unlikely  that  when  Jehoiakim  was  a  little  boy, 
he  was  one  of  those  who  heard  his  good  father  reading 
the  law  of  God  aloud  to  the  people  in  the  temple,  and 
binding  them  in  solemn  covenant  to  serve  the  Lord  (of 
which  we  have  a  full  account  in  2  Kings  xxvi.);  but, 
when  he  grew  older,  he  would  not  listen  to  that  law — he 
shut  his  ears  against  the  warnings  of  the  prophets  ;  he 
actually  put  to  death  the  faithful  Urijah,  a  messenger  of 
God ;  he  sought  to  get  hold  of  Jeremiah  ;  and  when  he 
could  neither  slay  nor  silence  him,  he  cut  in  pieces  and 
burnt  to  ashes  the  prophetic  roll. 

Human  nature  is  still  the  same.  As  soon  as  a  young 
man  begins  an  evil  course,  and  resolves  to  take  his  fill 
of  sinful  pleasure,  he  acquires  a  hatred  of  his  Bible,  and 
a  disinclination  to  attend  the  house  of  God.  If  he 
cannot  silence  God's  ministers,  he  will  keep  as  far  as 
possible  from  them,   and   shut  his  ears  against  all  good 


236  The  City   Youth, 

counsel.  I  know  a  man  living  over  there  in  one  of  those 
streets,  to  whom  the  sound  of  the  church  bells  is  so  hate- 
ful, that  in  the  warmest  day  in  summer  he  will  close  all 
his  windows,  if  possible,  to  keep  it  out.  He  was  once 
a  very  different  man,  but  now  the  devil  has  got  such 
possession  of  him,  that  he  abhors  every  vestige  of  re- 
ligion ;  and  I  verily  believe  that  were  you  to  "^ut  a  Bible 
into  his  hand,  he  would  cut  it  in  pieces  with  his  penknife, 
and  pitch  it  into  the  fire.  If  I  want  to  know  something  of 
your  state  of  heart,  I  ask,  what  value  do  you  put  on,  and 
what  use  do  you  make  of,  the  law  of  God  ? 

Young  men,  prize  the  Bible.  Make  it  your  daily  study. 
Listen  to  it  as  the  voice  of  God.  Take  it  for  a  lamp  to 
your  feet,  and  a  light  to  your  path.  Cherish  every  solemn 
conviction  ;  encourage  every  serious  thought.  If  you  have 
not  yet  done  it,  begin  the  Christian  course  to-night.  Be- 
gin it  by  looking  straight  to  Jesus  as  your  Saviour.  Say 
not,  you  are  waiting  for  Him  ;  He  is  waiting  for  you. 
To-night,  ere  you  go  to  rest,  down  on  your  knees,  and 
cry,  "  Lord,  I  give  myself  to  Thee."  I  engage  for  Him 
that  He  will  not  reject  you.  He  will  impart  to  you — what 
no  one  else  can  give  you — the  secret  of  a  happy  life,  a 
peaceful  death,  and  a  glorious  eternity  1 


PLANTS    GROWN    UP   IN   THEIR     YOUTH. 


"  That  our  sons   may  Oe  as  plants  ^roivn  up  m  their  youths—- 
Psalm  cxliv.  12. 


XVII. 

PLANTS   GROWN  UP  IN  THEIR    YOUTH. 

THE  whole  verse  runs  thus :  *'  That  our  sons  may  be 
as  plants  grown  up  in  their  youth,  that  our  daughters 
may  be  as  corner-stones,  polished  after  the  similitude  of  a 
palace." 

Scene. — A  handsome  Oriental  residence ;  enter,  and 
look  around.  The  form  is  quadrangular  ;  in  the  centre  is  an 
open  court  or  square,  with  windows  looking  into  it  from 
every  side. 

The  ancients,  in  their  building  arrangements,  did  just 
the  opposite  of  what  we  do.  We  construct  our  houses 
with  the  garden  in  front  or  behind.  They  built  them  with 
the  garden  inside.  And  so,  when  you  entered  the  porch 
you  found  yourself  in  a  court,  with  the  rooms  all  around. 
In  the  houses  of  the  wealthy  this  court  was  laid  out  with 
wonderful  taste,  adorned  with  shrubs  and  trees,  -svith  foun- 
tains and  fishponds,  and  elegant  statuary.  In  some  in- 
stances it  was  paved  with  coloured  marbles,  shadowed 
by  olive  and  acacia  trees,  and  surrounded  by  a  piazza, 
whose  entablature  rested  on  columns  or  pilasters  (called 
by  the  Greeks,  caryatides),  which  were  commonly  carved 
after  the  figure  of  a  woman  dressed  in  long  robes. 

Now,  I  think  I  catch  the  idea  in  the  mind  of  the  sacred 
poet. 

Two  objects  in  that  central  court  specially  arrest  his  eye  ; 
the  one  being  the  young  but  sturdy  trees  that  grow  up  so 


240  The  Ci'y   Yoiiih. 

vigorous  within  the  enclosure,  and  the  other  the  polished 
pillars  or  pilasters  that  stand  so  gracefully  around  ;  and  to 
his  mind  they  are  respectively  the  suggestive  emblems  of 
the  sons  and  daughters  of  a  pious  and  prosperous  house- 
hold. 

Happy  thought !  May  it  be  well  illustrated  in  the 
homes  of  England ;  and  especially  when,  by-and-by,  the 
Christmas  reunions  come,  and  brothers  and  sisters,  and 
other  dear  ones  who  have  for  months  been  separated, 
meet  once  more  under  the  old  roof-tree  :  and  love,  and 
innocent  mirth,  and  festivity  abound,  may  there  be  many 
a  reproduction  of  the  pleasing  picture  which  this  psalm 
contains ! 

Perhaps  it  may  seem  to  you  at  first  glance  as  though  the 
two  emblems  should  be  reversed  ;  the  daughters  being  the 
graceful  trees  which  grow  within  the  atrium  or  court,  and 
the  sons  the  solid  pillars  that  support  the  building  ;  but 
the  writer  guideth  his  pen  wisely :  and,  whilst  my  special 
aim  this  evening  is  to  justify  the  metaphor  he  applies  to 
right-minded  and  well-doing  young  men,  I  will  venture  to 
say,  and  I  am  sure  your  gallantry  will  endorse  the  remark, 
that  the  girls  are  an  equally  important  part  of  a  Christian 
household  ;  that  daughters  unite  families  and  bind  them  as 
corner-stones  join  walls  together,  and  that,  like  polished 
pilasters,  they  contribute  at  once  to  the  beauty  and 
security  of  the  structure.  When  sons  are  nobles  in  spirit, 
and  daughters  are  maids  of  honour,  the  home  becomes  a 
palace.  Would  that  all  our  homes  were  after  this  pattern  I 
"  Happy  the  people  that  is  in  such  a  case  ;  yea,  happy  is 
that  people  whose  God  is  the  Lord." 

"  That  our  sons  may  be  as  plants  grown  up  in  their 
youth."  Such  is  the  Psalmist's  prayer.  It  does  not  mean 
overgrown  lads  ;  youths  that  are  prematurely  men  ;  '*  old 
heads  on  young  shoulders  ; "  for,  if  there  is  an  objection- 


Plants  Grown  up  in  their   Youth,       24  i 

able  class  of  beings  on  the  earth,  it  is  this.  Sometimes 
you  hear  the  excuse  offered  for  the  follies  of  youth,,"  Boys 
will  be  boys ; "  but  what  else  would  you  have  them  to  be  ? 
In  my  opinion  it  is  quite  as  common  a  mistake  that "  Boys 
will  be  men."  Before  their  beards  are  as  long  as  their 
teeth,  they  put  on  the  airs  and  assume  the  importance  of 
full-grown  men.  The  smooth-cheeked  laddie,  who  is  just 
from  school,  struts  along  the  pavement  with  his  high  hat, 
ana  his  cane,  and  his  pipe,  and  everything  but  the  conception 
what  a  little  fool  he  is  ;  and  youths  of  eighteen  or  twenty, 
who  ought  to  know  better,  think  it  manly  to  drink  stimu- 
lants for  which  they  have  no  liking,  and  to  frequent  places 
of  amusement  where  they  will  learn  nothing  that  is  good. 

No,  no  ;  the  royal  Psalmist's  prayer  countenances  no 
folly  of  that  sort.  But,  if  it  is  foolish  for  a  lad  to  "  ape 
the  man"  while  he  is  but  a  boy,  I  shall  tell  you  what  is 
worse  ;  and  that  is,  for  a  youth  who  has  reached  the  years 
of  manhood,  to  be  still  in  taste  and  intelligence  only  a  boy. 
In  truth,  we  sometimes  see  it, — let  the  arrow  stick  where 
it  is  needed, — the  jacket  and  the  satchel  have  been  thrown 
aside,  but  little  else.  There  is  still  the  same  frivolity  and 
want  of  ballast,  the  same  light  behaviour,  and  larking,  and 
practical  joking,  which  were  pardonable  in  a  boy,  but 
which  are  inexcusable  in  a  man. 

I  think,  then,  none  of  us  will  misunderstand  the  text. 
David  is  not  praying  that  the  youth  of  the  land  should 
have  any  abnormal  precociousness,  or  should  be  in  any 
way  ahead  of  their  years  ;  but  the  picture  before  his  mind 
— suggested  by  those  blooming  palm-trees,  olives,  and 
acacias  that  skirt  the  atrium — is  that  of  vigorous,  health- 
ful, upright,  manly,  and  ingenuous  youth  ;  and  he  feels 
that  this,  if  realised,  would  be  the  highest  glory  of  the  land. 

God  grant  that,  in  this  sense,  "Our  sons  may  be  as  plants 
grown  up  in  their  youth," 

t6 


242  The  City  Youth, 

Three  thoughts  may  probably  have  been  uppermost  in 
tne  mind  of  the  sweet  bard  of  Israel,  as  he  breathed  this 
prayer.  For  the  young  men  of  his  counlry  he  desired  a 
healthful  frame,  a  solid  character,  and  a  hidden  life. 

I.  A  hcalthftd  frame;  a  strong,  robust,  vigorous 
physique.  It  has  been  said  that,  as  righteousness  is  the 
health  of  the  soul,  so  health  is  the  righteousness  of  the 
body.  Of  course,  we  know  that  there  are  stout,  healthy, 
muscular  men,  who  are  by  no  means  distinguished  as 
being  either  intellectual  or  spiritual. 

The  type  of  man  you  generally  associate  with  a  boxer, 
wrestler,  or  prize-fighter,  is  not  exactly  the  highest 
ideal  of  humanity.  That  mountain  of  flesh,  and  sinew, 
and  bone  may  compete  with  an  ox ;  he  may  form  a  good 
exhibit  at  a  cattle  show  ;  but,  as  regards  all  the  qualities 
that  ennoble  men,  he  may  be  a  very  poor  specimen  indeed. 
All  very  true ;  but  we  must  not  run  into  the  opposite 
error  of  encouraging  the  notion  that  thoughtful,  refined, 
cultured,  religious  men  must  be  pale-faced  and  delicate, 
pitifully  dyspeptic,  with  a  stooping  gait,  and  a  suspicious 
cough,  and  with  a  supreme  contempt  of  a  sound  physical 
development.  I  am  glad  to  observe  that  in  our  Young 
Men's  Christian  Associations  more  attention  is  now  being 
paid  to  the  cultivation  of  the  physical  powers. 

A  well-equipped  gymnasium  is  a  valuable  adjunct  to 
such  an  institution. 

Vigorous  athletic  exercise  is  a  grand  thing  for  expand- 
ing the  chest,  bracing  the  system,  and  cheating  the  doctor 
and  the  sexton  alike.  If  this  is  kept  in  its  own  place,  it 
has  a  distinctly  favourable  effect  upon  the  mind,  and  I 
will  even  say,  is  conducive  to  spiritual  health.  Within  the 
past  few  years,  we  have  seen  that  some  of  the  first  athletes 
of  Oxford  and  Cambridge  have,  at  the  same  time,  been 
most  successful  students,  and  devoted  Christians. 


Plants  Grown  up  in  their  Youth,       243 

Most  men  who  are  given  to  study,  know  how  swift  and 
easy  are  mental  processes  on  some  days  which  on  others 
are  tardy  and  difficult,  because  the  mind  catches  vigour 
from  the  body,  and  the  very  thoughts  are  freshened  up 
when  the  outwaid  frame  is  in  the  glow  of  health. 

A  walk  in  the  clear  crisp  morning  air,  how  it  seems  to 
invigorate  th*i  h-rain  1  A  game  upon  the  cricket-field ;  a 
swim  beyond  the  breakers  ;  a  gallop  on  horseback  over  the 
breezy  dowv.s ;  a  skating  race  upon  the  frozen  lake ;  how 
any  of  these  quickens  the  faculties,  and  makes  us  more 
ready  for  whatever  brain  work  we  have  to  do. 

It  is  possible  that  the  imagination  may  act  most  bril- 
liantly under  other  conditions  ;  that,  as  the  pale  dyspeptic 
student  burns  his  midnight  oil,  there  may  come  the  most 
vivid  flashes  of  fancy,  and  coruscations  of  genius  (as  is 
shown  in  such  writers  as  Don  Quixote  and  Allan  Poe) ; 
but  the  higher  and  more  solid  intellectual  faculties  are 
benumbed  or  paralysed  ;  or,  if  they  do  any  good  work,  it 
is  at  a  terrible  expense  to  whatever  health  remains. 

You  who  have  a  sound  and  well-disciplined  body,  with 
the  appetite  and  elasticity  that  go  along  with  it — even 
though  you  cannot  boast  of  more  than  a  mediocrity  of 
talent,  and  are  unpossessed  of  wit  and  imagination — will 
outstrip,  in  the  race  for  real  happiness  and  usefulness, 
those  nervous  and  morbid  creatures  whose  only  compen- 
sation is  the  occasional  gleam  of  a  fitful  and  spasmodic 
genius. 

All  the  more  important  is  it,  you  should  attend  to  your 
bodily  health,  because,  to  many  of  you  at  least,  the  atmo- 
sphere in  this  vast  city  is  so  different  from  the  purer  air 
in  which  your  early  life  was  spent.  Yet,  London  is  not 
only  the  healthiest  city  in  the  world,  but,  as  the  official 
statistics  show,  has  actually  a  lower  race  of  mortality  than 
many  a  country  district.     No   fear  of  your  health   if  your 


244  ^'^^^  ^^iy  Youth, 

will  use  the  proper  means,  keep  early  hours,  avoid  unlaw- 
ful amusements,  discard  all  stimulants  except  as  medicine, 
OJse  simple  wholesome  food  and  plenty  of  it,  take  enough 
of  exercise,  and  do  your  work  in  the  daytime,  not  in  gas- 
light. Remember,  one  hour's  sleep  before  midnight  is  worth 
two  after  twelve  has  struck. 

Tell  all  your  friends  London  is  a  noble  place  for  young 
men,  if  they  will  behave  themselves.  I  have  now  been 
here  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  though  the  native  of 
a  rural  parish  ;  and,  whilst  an  eminent  physician  assured 
me  twenty  years  ago  I  could  not  hold  out  five  years  in  the 
metropolis,  I  am  stronger  to-day  than  I  was  then,  and, 
please  God,  don't  mean  to  get  upon  **  the  aged  and 
infirm  "  list  for  a  while  to  come ! 

No  young  lad  need  be  afraid  to  come  to  this  modern 
Babylon,  if  he  brings  a  fairly  sound  constitution,  and  good 
principles,  with  him.  There  is  no  place  like  it.  Its  scope 
is  larger,  and  its  opportunities  and  advantages  more 
numerous,  than  in  any  other  town  or  city  in  the  world. 

Nowhere  will  you  find  a  nobler  race  of  men,  or  stronger 
in  all  the  elements  of  a  vigorous,  healthful  manhood. 

I  am  within  the  rightful  province  of  the  pulpit,  young 
men,  when  I  entreat  you,  in  order  that  you  may  be  fully 
qualified  for  the  task  of  life,  to  use"  every  means  to  secure 
and  maintain  a  condition  of  full,  normal,  physical  vigour. 

*'  111  fares  the  land,  to  hastening  ills  a  prey, 
When  wealth  accumulates,  and  men  decay." 

God  grant  that  Britain  may  long  have  a  just  pre-eminence 
for  a  stalwart,  vigorous,  and  manly  race,  and  that  her  sons 
may  everywhere  be  like  sturdy  plants  grovvn  up  in  their 
youth  ! 

II.  A  solid  character.  Yes ;  for  I  apprehend  that  the 
devout  Psalmist,  when  he  uttered  this  prayer,  was  thinking 


Pla7its  Grown  zip  in  their   Youth,       245 

also  of  moral  power.  A  quaint  writer  says,  "  If  a  man  is 
to  grow,  he  must  grow  like  a  tree ;  there  must  be  nothing 
between  him  and  heaven." 

The  figure  in  the  text  is  tropical,  and  certainly  the  writer 
had  in  his  mind's  eye  some  such  tall  and  stately  species  of 
growth  as  he  refers  to  by  name  in  another  Psalm,  where 
he  says,  "  The  righteous  shall  flourish  as  a  palm-tree  ;  he 
shall  grow  like  a  cedar  in  Lebanon."  *'  Character,"  says 
Foster,  "  should  retain  the  upright  vigour  of  manliness  ; 
not  let  itself  be  bent  and  fixed  in  any  specific  form.  It 
should  be  like  an  upright  elastic  tree,  which,  though  it  may 
accommodate  itself  a  little  to  the  wind,  never  loses  its 
spring  and   self-dependent  vigour." 

I  know  it  has  been  said,  that  the  weak  side  of  young 
men  is  very  weak.  Youth  is  prone  to  excess,  and,  on  the 
sunny  side  of  twenty,  there  is  a  tendency  to  carry  more 
sail  than  ballast. 

Nothing  is  more  injurious  to  a  man  than  incessant 
frivolity.  To  be  always  running  after  pleasure  betokens 
a  low  type  of  humanity.  Youth  should  be  happy,  but 
serious  too.  Continued  levity  emasculates  the  soul.  To 
be  ever  cackling  may  befit  a  goose,  but  not  a  man.  Timely 
merriment  is  wholesome  ;  but  there  is  something  better 
than  laughing,  after  all.  The  author  of  "  John  Gilpin  " 
must  have  possessed  a  rich  fund  of  humour;  yet  Cowper 
complained  of  the  fellow-clerks  in  his  office,  that  "to 
giggle  and  make  giggle  "  appeared  to  be  the  end  of  their 
life.  It  is  a  fine  thing  to  see  a  young  man  with  some 
solidity  about  him ;  some  moral  backbone ;  to  see  (as 
we  sometimes  do)  stamped  upon  such  an  one's  very  face, 
and  gait,  and  manner,  the  self-respect  that  accompanies 
truthfulness,  integrity,  and  goodness.  When  Stephen  of 
Colonna  fell  into  the  hands  of  his  base  assailants,  and  they 
asked  him  in  derision,  **  Where  is  your  fortress  ?  "    "  Here," 


246  The  City  Youth, 

he  at  once  exclaimed,  laying  his  hand  on  his  heart.  It  is 
an  old  adage  that  '*  knowledge  is  power,"  but  it  is  still 
more  true  to  say,  that  ''  character  is  power."  Let  there  be 
that  about  a  young  fellow  which  impresses  all  who  meet 
him  with  a  sense  of  his  thorough  genuineness  and  high- 
toned  principle,  it  is  worth  more  than  words  can  express. 
But,  on  the  other  hand,  without  solidity  of  character,  mere 
cleverness  counts  in  the  long  run  for  but  little.  "  A  good 
name,"  says  the  wisest  of  men,  **  is  better  than  precious 
ointment ; "  and  a  bad  name  is  offensive  as  asafoetida.  A 
pointed  cannon  is  nothing  to  a  pointed  finger.  It  was  said 
of  Alexander  I.  of  Russia,  that  throughout  his  great  empire, 
his  own  personal  character  was  equivalent  to  a  constitution. 

I  have  often  seen  mere  youths,  whose  dignity  of  bearing 
was  like  a  coat  of  mail  to  them,  and  to  others  was  a 
perpetual  sermon.  *'  Under  whose  preaching  were  you 
converted  ?  "  said  one  young  man  to  another.  "  Under  no 
one's  preaching,"  was  the  reply,  **  but  under  my  cousin's 
practising." 

Ah  !  a  consistent  life,  whose  manifest  aim  is  not  the 
pursuit  of  pleasure,  but  the  performance  of  duty,  is 
mightier  in  its  testimony  than  all  the  eloquence  of  the 
I'ulpit.  There  is  not  one  of  you,  however  great  your 
disadvantages,  who  should  not  aspire  to  this.  The  very 
things  that  seem  to  keep  you  down,  and  thwart  your 
usefulness,  may  prove  to  be  in  your  favour.  I  am  told 
that  the  submarine  telegraph  cable  in  Bass's  Straits, 
weighing  ten  tons  a  mile,  was  actually  floated  to  the 
surface  by  the  seaweed  which  attached  itself  to  it. 

In  like  manner  you  may  be  lifted  above  the  common 
level,  notv/ithstanding  all  the  natural  difficulties  which 
would  keep  you  down ;  ay,  these  very  difficulties  may  be 
ultimately  the  means  of  your  elevation. 

Aim  then,    young   men,   at  solidity  of  character.     See 


Plants  Grown  up  in  their   Youth.       247 

that  you  carry  with  you  a  moral  momentum,  that  shall 
drive  before  it  the  trivialities  that  encumber  so  many,  and 
prove  their  ruin. 

Devote  your  spare  hours  to  something  better  than  play- 
going,  novel-reading,  dominoes,  or  billiards.  "  Sow 
billiards,  reap  fools,"  said  a  blunt  sage,  and  he  added,  **  I 
never  knew  a  first-class  billiard-player  that  was  worth  the 
powder  and  lead  it  would  take  to  shoot  him."  You  are 
made  of  better  stuff  than  you  can  afford  to  throw  away 
upon  such  inanity. 

Grow  up  like  young  palms,  stretching  upward  toward 
heaven  ;  or,  if  you  prefer  it,  like  solid  English  oaks  (which 
are  supposed  to  form  an  appropriate  emblem  of  our 
national  character),  not  stunted,  nor  dwarfed,  nor  pollarded, 
but  reaching  out  and  up  towards  Him  who  made  you. 

But  now  I  come  to  the  most  important  point  of  all. 

III.  A  hidden  life.  Doubtless,  what  chiefly  struck  the 
eye  of  the  Psalmist,  as  he  looked  on  those  young  trees,  was 
their  exuberant  vitality. 

Whence  the  height  of  their  stems,  the  extension  of  their 
branches,  the  greenness  of  their  foliage,  the  fulness  of  their 
bloom  }  There  was  a  life  within,  which,  springing  from  the 
root,  made  itself  felt  to  the  remotest  leaf  and  fibre.  Under 
the  warm  and  genial  influence  of  a  tropical  climate,  shel- 
tered within  the  enclosure,  yet  open  to  the  light,  and  rain, 
and  dew,  those  trees  were  no  doubt  pictures  of  full 
luxuriant  life. 

That  life  came  from  God.  Man's  power  is  marvellous, 
but  it  stops  short  of  this.  Alike  in  the  vegetable  and 
animal  world,  he  has  pushed  his  explorations  almost  to 
the  fontal  spring  of  being ;  but  he  reaches  a  point  where 
his  keenest  research  is  arrested.  He  can  neither  under- 
stand nor  imparl  life. 


248  The  City   Youth, 

It  is  equally  so  in  the  spiritual  domain.  Each  of  you 
needs  that  which  no  human  power  can  communicate,  and 
without  which  the  fairest  religious  profession  is  only  a 
painted  corpse.  Personal  and  saving  religion  is  no 
development  from  within,  no  product  of  moral  evolution ; 
it  is  something  whose  germ  must  be  imparted  to  you  by 
the  Holy  Spirit ;  and  without  which  germ  you  are,  in  the 
sight  of  God,  absolutely  dead. 

Oh,  I  would  have  you  all  realise  this  great  truth !  You 
may  be  fine  fellows,  as  I  am  sure  many  of  you  are,  with 
robust  bodies,  and  clear  hands,  and  generous  dispositions, 
and  an  irreproachable  character :  but  that  is  not  enough. 

"One  thing  thou  lackest."  And  that  one  thing  God 
only  can  give  you. 

D.  L.  Moody  tells  us  that  after  the  Battle  of  Pittsburgh 
he  was  visiting  the  hospital.  In  the  middle  of  the  night 
he  was  roused  up,  and  told  that  a  man  in  one  of  the  wards 
wanted  to  see  him.  As  he  entered,  the  man  called  to  him, 
and  said  he  wished  him  to  help  him  to  die.  ''  My  dear 
friend,"  said  Moody,  "  I  would  take  you  right  up  in  my 
arms  and  carry  you  into  the  kingdom  of  God  if  I  could, 
but  I  can't  do  it ;  no  man  can  do  that.  I  cannot  help  you 
to  die."  "Then  who  can  ?"  exclaimed  the  dying  soldier, 
*'  Jesus  Christ  can.     He  came  for  that  purpose." 

And  all  through  the  long  night  the  earnest  evangelist 
kept  pleading  with  and  for  that  poor  man,  and  setting 
before  him  the  two  great  truths  which  our  Lord  preached 
to  Nicodcmus,  truths  which  should  always  go  together; 
the  two  ''musts"  of  John  iii.,  "Ye  must  be  born  again  ;" 
"The  Son  of  man  must  be  lifted  up."  He  showed  him 
that  the  life  of  heaven  must  be  begun  within  the  soul  now, 
and  that  it  is  begotten  by  gazing  on  the  uplifted  Redeemer 
crucified  on  Calvary  for  us ;  and  ere  the  first  streaks  of  the 
morning  reddened  the  eastern  sky,  the  soldier  said,  "  It  is 


Plants  Grown  up  in  their   Youth.       249 

enough  ;  I  see  it ;  Christ  is  mine,"  and  went  up  in  one  of 
God's  own  chariots  to  the  land  where  the  sound  of  battle 
is  heard  no  more. 

Oh,  what  a  blessed  thing  it  is  to  possess  this  life ! 
Vegetable  life  you  can  kill,  animal  life  you  can  crush  out 
and  destroy,  but  spiritual  life  no  effort  of  man  or  devil  can 
exterminate. 

St.  Paul  speaks  of  "  the  power  of  an  endless  life  ;  "  the 
Greek  word  is  dtinanm  (the  original  of  our  modern  word 
dynamite),  and  means  a  mighty  and  resistless  force,  a 
vital  energy  that  cannot  be  confined. 

Not  till  you  know  something  of  this  within  can  you 
truly  say  with  the  Apostle,  *'  I  live  1  " 

Oh,  remember  that,  as  Cowper  says, 

*'  He  lives,  who  lives  to  God  alone, 
And  all  are  dead  beside  ; 
For  other  source  than  God  is  none. 
Whence  life  can  be  supplied. 

To  live  to  God  is  to  requite 

His  love  as  best  we  may  ; 
To  make  His  precepts  our  delight, 

His  promises  our  stay. 

But  life  within  a  narrow  ring 

Of  giddy  joys  comprised, 
Is  falsely  named,  and  no  such  thing, 

But  rather  death  disguised." 

Who  will  not  fervently  join  in  the  prayer  of  our  text } 
Who  will  not  long  for  the  day  when  the  sons  of  Britannia 
"  shall  be  as  plants  grown  up  in  their  youth " }  when 
the  young  men  of  England,  spurning  the  courses  that 
enervate  and  demean,  shall  rise  to  the  height  of  a  manly 
dignity,  and  aim  to  be  the  guardians  and  benefactors  of 
their  country  ? 


250  The  City   Youth, 

I  recollect  that,  some  years  ago,  a  member  of  the 
British  Parliament,  urging  the  increase  of  the  army, 
exclaimed  in  the  House  of  Commons,  "  We  have  now  no 
allies  on  whom  we  can  depend ;  no  treaties  on  which  we 
can  rely ;  all  we  have  to  look  to  is  the  iron  and  the  gold 
of  England  ! "  It  will  indeed  be  a  sad  day  for  a  country 
when  her  security  rests  upon  her  army  and  her  wealth, 
when  her  main  strength  lies  either  in  her  arsenal  or  her 
exchequer.  May  God  give  her  a  better  defence  than 
these,  even  in  the  sound  and  Christian  character  of  her 
rising  youth,  a  noble  band  of  God-fearing  and  high- 
principled  men  ! 

*'  Long  may  our  hardy  sons  of  honest  toil 
Be  blest  with  health  and  peace,  and  sweet  content ! 
And  oh  !  may  Heaven  their  simple  lives  prevent 
From  luxury's  contagion,  weak  and  vile  ! 
Then  howe'er  crowns  and  coronets  be  rent 
A  virtuous  populace  shall  rise  the  while, 
And  stand,  a  wall  of  fire,  around  our  much-loved  isle." 

Amen. 


RIGHT.  BUT  NOT  PERFECT, 


"  He  did  that  which  "was  right  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord^  but  not  with 
a  perfect  heart''— 2  Chronicles  xxv.  2. 


XVIII. 

RIGHT,   BUT  NOT  PERFECT. 

THIS  man  was  a  true  type  of  large  numbers  of  young 
Englishmen  and  young  Scotchmen  in  our  own  day, 
who,  with  many  excellent  principles  and  good  points  of 
character,  are  only  half-hearted  in  religion.  Amaziah  is  a 
Scriptural  person  very  little  studied.  Though  there  is 
much  to  be  learnt  from  the  brief  record  of  his  life,  few 
people  seem  to  have  noticed  it.  I  never  met  with  a 
sermon  upon  it.  I  suppose  many  persons,  if  you  asked 
them,  could  not  tell  you  who  Amaziah  was. 

Nor  is  it  difficult  to  explain  this.  Some  of  those  ancient 
Jewish  kings  were  conspicuous  for  their  piety,  and  some 
were  notorious  for  their  daring  wickedness.  This  man  was 
neither  the  one  nor  the  other.  We  are  told  in  the  Second 
Book  of  Kings,  that  **  he  did  that  which  was  right  in  the 
sight  of  the  Lord,  but  not  like  his  father  (or  ancestor) 
David."  In  his  life  and  character  there  was  a  mingling 
of  the  good  and  the  evil. 

But  I  imagine  that  on  this  account  he  was  only  the 
truer  type  of  the  vast  majority  of  men.  Davids  and 
Josiahs,  alas !  are  few  and  far  between ;  so  also,  happily, 
are  Ahabs  and  Manassehs ;  but  Amaziahs  everywhere 
abound. 

We  shall  make  this  man  our  study  for  a  little,  and,  I 
hope,  shall  carry  away  some  useful  lessons. 


254  The  City  Youths 

There  r.re  three  sources  from  which  we  obtain  infor- 
mation about  him ;  I  shall  avail  myself  of  them  all. 
There  is,  first,  the  record  in  the  Second  Book  of  Kings  ; 
then  there  is  the  passage  before  us ;  and  lastly,  there  is 
an  interesting  chapter  in  Josephus's  **  Antiquities  of  the 
Jews,"  which,  though  of  course  it  has  not  the  authority 
of  Scripture,  is  generally  held  to  be  rel'able. 

Amaziah  was  twenty-five  years  of  age  when  he  succeeded 
to  the  throne.  As  a  boy  he  had  been  conscientious  and 
well-behaved.  Josephus  says,  "  he  was  exceeding  careful 
of  doing  what  was  right,  and  this  when  he  was  very  young." 
From  the  express  mention  of  his  mother's  name,  both  here 
and  in  the  Book  of  Kings,  I  fancy  she  was  a  good  and 
pious  woman  ;  and  that  her  faithful  training  had  much  to 
do  with  the  early  promise  he  gave  of  a  useful  and  honour- 
able career.  Many  a  time,  I  daresay,  Jehoaddan  (for  such 
^'?as  her  name)  would  take  her  son  aside,  and  in  fervent 
prayer  commend  him  to  the  God  of  his  fathers,  and  tell 
him  of  the  heroic  deeds  of  some  of  his  saintly  ancestors, 
and  point  out  to  him  the  responsibilities  which,  in  future 
years,  would  devolve  upon  him. 

Oh,  who  can  estimate  the  influence  of  a  godly  mother ! 
Don't  many  of  you  owe  more  than  words  can  ever  express 
to  the  wise  and  gentle  rule  of  her  who  gave  you  birth  } 
What  tender  and  hallowed  associations  cluster  round  the 
home  of  your  early  childhood  !  John  Wesley  wrote  :-^**  I 
remember  that,  when  I  first  understood  what  death  was, 
and  began  to  think  of  it,  the  most  fearful  thought  it  in- 
duced was  that  of  losing  my  mother;  it  seemed  to  me 
more  than  I  could  bear,  and  I  used  to  hope  that  I  might 
die  before  her."  Ah  !  there  is  no  velvet  so  soft  as  a 
mother's  lap,  no  star  so  lovely  as  her  smile,  no  music  so 
melodious  as  her  voice,  no  rose  so  fragrant  as  the  memory 
of  her  love  ! 


Right,  but  not  Perfect,  255 

The  first  thini,^  that  Amaziah  did  when  he  was  settled  on 
the  throne  was  to  avenge  the  murder  of  his  father  Joash. 
A  cruel  conspiracy  had  been  framed  by  the  servants  of  the 
palace,  and  they  had  slain  the  king  upon  his  bed.  His 
son  could  not  rest  until  these  miscreants  had  been  brought 
to  justice.  If  he  had  carried  out  the  vindictive  practices  of 
his  own  time,  he  would  have  destroyed  their  families  too  ; 
but  he  called  to  mind  an  enactment  in  the  law  of  Moses, 
to  the  effect  that  children  should  not  be  made  to  suffer  for 
the  sins  of  their  fathers,  and  he  spared  them  alive.  Now 
this  showed  that  he  was  not  unfamiliar  with  his  Bible,  and 
that  he  was  anxious  to  be  merciful  as  well  as  just.  liad 
he  not  been  acquainted  with  the  Mosaic  law,  and  had  he 
not  had  some  elements  of  goodness  in  his  heart,  he  would 
no  douLt  have  swept  off  the  face  of  the  earth,  root  and 
branch,  the  whole  families  of  those  who  had  taken  his 
father's  life. 

The  great  exploit  of  his  reign  was  a  military  campaign 
against  the  Edomites.  The  country  of  Edom  bordered 
on  Palestine,  and  in  the  days  of  King  Jehoshaphat  was 
subject  to  Judah  :  but  for  some  time  the  people  had  suc- 
cessfully revolted,  and  Amaziah  was  seized  with  the 
ambition  to  reduce  them  to  obedience  again,  and  so  to 
extend  the  glory  of  his  kingdom. 

There  does  not  appear  to  have  been  any  necessity  for 
this  war.  Like  most  wars,  it  sprang  out  of  greed  and  the 
lust  for  power.  No  doubt  Amaziah  would  find  some  pre- 
text for  it;  kings  and  governments  always  manage  this. 
But  the  simple  fact  was,  he  wished  to  be  a  bigger  man, 
and  to  have  a  wider  empire  ;  so  he  set  to  work  to  gather 
a  magnificent  army  with  which  to  invade  and  capture  the 
land  of  Edom.  "Annexation"  is  the  word.  We  know  a 
little  about  it  in  our  own  time.  If  a  certain  region  of  the 
world,  desirable   for  political  or   commercial    reasons,   is 


256  The  City  Youth, 

weak  and  ill-governed,  and  a  sort  of  "no-man's-land,**  we 
feel  it  our  duty  to  ** annex"  it,  which,  in  some  instances, 
is  neither  less  nor  more  than  a  piece  of  national  larceny. 
Well,  Amaziah,  having  taken  this  job  in  hand,  resolved 
he  would  make  it  a  success ;  so,  in  addition  to  his  own 
army,  consisting  of  300,000  chosen  men,  he  hired  from 
his  neighbour  Joash,  the  King  of  Israel,  100,000  soldiers, 
all  "  mighty  men  of  valour."  For  t^is  he  agreed  to  pay  a 
hundred  talents  of  silver. 

However,  when  the  expedition  was  all  prepared,  and 
just  as  he  was  setting  out  for  the  field  of  battle,  a  prophet 
came  to  him,  and  in  the  name  of  God  ordered  him  at  once 
to  dismiss  those  hired  soldiers  from  the  King  of  Israel ; 
adding  that  the  Lord's  favour  was  not  with  them,  and 
that  they  would  be  a  source  rather  of  weakness  than  of 
strength.  Amaziah  was  greatly  put  about  by  this.  He 
was  most  unwilling  to  send  these  stalwart  men  about  their 
business,  and  yet  he  feared  to  disobey  the  prophet.  More- 
over, he  had  already  paid  down  a  big  sum  for  the  hire  of 
them,  and  that  money  he  could  not  recover.  "  What  shall 
we  do,"  said  he,  **  for  the  hundred  talents  which  I  have 
given  to  the  army  of  Israel  ?  "  And  the  prophet  answered, 
**The  Lord  is  able  to  give  thee  much  more  than  this." 
It  was  a  trial  of  the  king's  principle  and  faith  in  God. 
And  how  did  he  act }  What  decision  did  he  come  to  ? 
He  did  the  thing  that  was  right.  "  Let  the  money  go," 
he  said ;  "  we  shall  dispense  with  these  Israelites,  and 
look  to  God  for  help,"  So  he  sent  the  men  back  to  their 
own.  country. 

But  they  were  much  offended  at  being  thus  treated. 
They  took  it  as  an  insult  offered  to  them,  and  in  passing 
homewards  through  the  land  of  Judah,  they  took  occasion 
to  wTeak  their  vengeance  on  the  people,  and  wrought  great 
mischief  amorg  them. 


Right,   but  7iot  Perfect.  257 

Having  got  rid  of  these  men,  Amaziah  led  forth  his 
army  against  the  Edomites,  gaining  a  signal  victoiy 
over  them  in  the  valley  of  Salt,  where  ten  thousand 
were  left  dead  upon  the  field.  Other  ten  thousand  he 
took  as  prisoners,  and  bringing  them  to  the  top  of  the 
steep  cliffs  of  that  rocky  region,  threw  them  over  head- 
long, so  that  they  were  dashed  in  pieces. 

His  very  success,  however,  proved  in  the  long  run  to  be 
his  ruin.  Elated  with  the  splendid  victory  he  had  achieved, 
he  forsook  the  God  of  his  fathers.  Ho  was  foolish  enough 
to  take  back  into  his  own  country  some  of  the  idol  gods 
of  Edom,  and  wicked  enough  to  set  them  up  as  objects  of 
worship.  Yielding  himself  to  degrading  superstition,  he 
actually  bowed  himself  down  before  these  heathen  deities, 
and  burned  incense  unto  them. 

On  this,  a  prophet  came  to  him,  and  rebuked  him  for 
his  gross  idolatry;  but  this  only  provoked  the  Kirg  to 
rage,  who  bid  the  prophet  hold  his  peace,  and  threatened 
to  smite  him  if  he  interfered.  The  man  of  God  replied 
that  he  would  indeed  hold  his  peace,  but  warned  the 
King  that  he  had  incurred  the  wrath  of  the  IMost  High, 
and  that  his  destruction  was  not  far  off. 

The  prediction  was  fulfilled,  and  that  in  a  remarkable 
and  tragic  manner.  Amaziah,  puffed  up  with  pride,  seems 
to  have  fairly  lost  his  head.  His  great  victory  over  the 
Edomites  gave  him  a  thirst  for  further  conquest.  So,  in 
a  vein  of  insolence,  he  sent  a  challenge  to  the  King  of 
Israel  to  come  and  try  their  strength  in  battle.  Had  it 
been  a  personal  duel  he  proposed,  the  case  would  not 
have  been  so  bad  ;  but,  unfortunately,  the  whims  of  kings 
involve  the  sufferings  of  the  innocent;  and  too  often 
thousands  of  lives  have  been  sacrificed  to  one  man's 
capricious  humour.  King  Joash  seems  to  have  been  a 
bit  of  a  wit  or  a  wag,  for  he  sent  him  back  a  smart  and 

17 


258  The  City  Youth, 

pungent  reply,  which  must  have  stung  Amaziah  to  the 
quick.  Many  a  wholesome  truth  old  ^sop  told  with 
emphasis  by  his  witty  fables  ;  and  by  the  quaint  little 
story  we  were  reading,  Joash  read  his  royal  brother  a 
lesson  he  was  in  need  of.  He  compares  himself  to  a 
stately  cedar  of  Lebanon,  and  Amaziah  to  a  sorry  con- 
temptible thistle,  intimating  that  he  scorned  as  much  to 
have  anything  to  do  with  him,  as  a  cedar  would  to  affi- 
ance his  daughter  to  a  weed.  He  made  the  pill  even  more 
bitter  to  swallow,  by  adding,  that  a  wild  beast  came  and 
trod  down  the  thistle:  the  import  of  which  it  would  not 
be  difficult  for  the  King  of  Judah  to  understand. 

Josephus  tells  us,  that,  on  reading  this  letter,  Amaziah  was 
more  determined  than  ever  to  fight,  and  hastened  to  bring 
his  army  to  the  field :  but  that,  as  soon  as  his  men  were 
drawn  up  in  battle  array,  a  strange,  unaccountable  panic 
seized  them,  so  that  they  all  fled  in  every  direction,  and  left 
their  King  alone,  who  was  immediately  taken  prisoner  by 
the  enemy.  Moreover,  to  add  to  his  humiliation,  Joash 
threatened  to  kill  him,  unless  he  would  persuade  the 
people  of  Jerusalem,  his  own  capital,  to  open  their  gates 
to  the  conqueror.  This  Amaziah  did  ;  but,  not  content 
therewith,  Joash  broke  down  a  part  of  the  ancient  wall, 
and  drove  his  chariot  through  the  breach,  leading  his 
royal  prisoner  captive  behind  him ;  and  not  till  he  had 
rifled  the  King's  palace,  and  taken  away  all  the  costly 
treasures  of  the  temple,  did  he  set  him  at  liberty,  and 
return  to  Samaria. 

The  end  of  Amaziah  was  a  sad  one.  Betrayed  by  his 
own  friends,  who  made  a  conspiracy  against  him  in 
Jerusalem,  he  fled  to  the  city  of  Lachish,  but  they  sent 
after  him,  and  slew  him  there.  "This,"  adds  Josephus, 
"  was  the  end  of  the  life  of  Amaziah,  because  of  his 
innovations  in  religion,  and  his  contempt  of  God." 


Right y  but  not  Perfect,  259 

I  daresay  it  has  occurred  to  you,  as  I  have  been  re- 
counting the  story,  that  there  was  much  more  of  what  was 
bad  than  of  what  was  good  in  the  life  of  this  man  ;  and 
you  may  wonder  that  it  is  said  of  him  in  our  text,  that 
"he  did  that  which  was  right  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord." 
Something  must  be  allowed,  of  course,  for  the  times  in 
which  he  lived,  and  for  the  contrast  with  kings  greatly 
worse  than  himself;  but  there  were  not  wanting  certain 
good  elements  about  him ;  and  had  he  not  given  way 
to  a  haughty  temper  and  ambitious  pride,  his  career 
might  have  been  a  useful  and  a  happy  one.  He  was 
acquainted  with  the  Scriptures,  and  paid  respect  to  the 
ordinances  of  religion ;  he  had  the  desire  to  live  a 
virtuous  and  godly  life ;  but  the  secret  of  his  failure  was, 
that  his  heart  was  not  right  with  God.  His  goodness  was 
superficial,  and  therefore  artificial ;  it  was  not  the  outcome 
of  a  regenerate  nature. 

Well,  there  may  be  nothing  very  novel,  nothing  exciting 
nor  entertaining,  in  the  truth  I  am  bringing  out ;  but  I 
know  nothing  that  is  more  important  to  impress  young 
men  with  than  this,  that,  for  all  your  correctness  of  out- 
ward life,  your  familiarity  with  the  Word  of  God,  your 
respect  for  what  is  sacred,  and  your  general  amiableness 
of  character,  you  shall  and  must  utterly  fail  in  fulfilling  the 
great  end  of  life,  unless  there  is  "  the  root  of  the  matter" 
in  you,  your  hearts  being  renewed  by  Almighty  grace. 

IVIny  it  not  be,  that  to  some  of  you  God  is  saying,  "  I 
know  thy  works,  that  thou  hast  a  name  that  thou  livest, 
and  art  dead.  Be  w^atchful,  and  strengthen  the  things 
that  remain,  which  are  ready  to  die  ;  for  I  have  not  found 
thy  works  perfect  before  God  "  } 

Now,  do  not  misunderstand  this  word  **  perfect."  No 
man  is  perfect,  in  the  absolute  sense  of  the  term  :  thougli 
we  are  to  strive  after  this  as  the  goal.    No  meaner  standard 


26o  The  City  Youth. 

are  we  to  set  before  us,  than  to  **  be  perfect,  even  as  our 
Father  which  is  in  heaven  is  perfect."  But,  if  our  own 
experience  and  observation  do  not  tell  us,  all  Scripture 
does,  that  **  there  is  not  a  just  man  upon  earth,  that  doeth 
good,  and  sinneth  not."  We  are  told  of  Job,  that  he  was 
**  a  perfect  man  and  upright : "  and  yet  what  does  he 
himself  say  ?  '*  If  I  justify  myself,  mine  own  mouth  shall 
condemn  me ;  if  I  say  I  am  perfect  it  shall  also  prove  me 
perverse."  It  was  not  because  Amaziah  was  not  sinless 
that  his  life  proved  such  a  failure,  but  because  he  was  not 
thorough-going  in  his  principle  and  piety. 

Let  this  be  the  lesson  we  bear  away  with  us  to-night. 
No  lesson  more  needed.  English  life  at  present  seems  to 
be  afflicted  with  a  plague  of  levity.  There  is  so  much 
hollowness  and  unreality,  so  much  veneer  in  character  and 
work,  that  it  behoves  us  to  preach  aloud  the  gospel  of 
thoroughness.  A  short  time  ago  some  workmen  were  en- 
gaged in  trying  to  remove  a  piece  of  old  London  wall. 
They  tried  with  hammers,  then  with  pickaxes,  then  they 
had  to  borrow  the  help  of  some  stalwart  navvies,  but  to 
no  purpose,  the  wall  seemed  to  smile  at  all  their  efforts ; 
at  last  they  were  obliged  to  have  recourse  to  boring,  and 
blowing  it  up  like  a  piece  of  solid  rock. 

That  is  hardly  the  way  they  build  nowadays,  for  it  is 
dangerous  for  a  man  to  lean  against  some  of  our  brick  walls. 

Now,  this  is  just  an  illustration  of  what  I  mean,  the 
want  of  thoroughness  in  every  branch  of  industry  and  in 
every  walk  of  life.  When  a  man's  own  character  is  not 
solid,  real,  permeated  through  and  through  with  Christian 
principle,  you  cannot  have  any  guarantee  of  the  genuine- 
ness of  his  work.  They  say  that  if  you  send  to  Birming- 
ham an  old  copper  coal-scuttle,  a  sovereign,  and  a  gal- 
vanic battery,  they  will  send  you  back  a  thousand  pounds 
wurth  of  gold  plate.     Brummagem  work  is  not  confined 


Right y  but  not  Perfect.  261 

to  such  articles  as  these.  Shams  abound  everywhere. 
Gilt  and  paint  carry  the  day.     Ours  is  an  age  of  tinsel. 

And  the  worst  of  it  is  that  this  unrealness  charac- 
terises much  of  the  religion  amongst  us.  I  sometimes 
meet  with  a  horrible  form  of  Antinomianism,  which 
virtually  says,  "Anything  will  do  for  me,  I  am  a  disciple 
of  Christ ;  "  and  so  the  work  is  actually  more  slovenly  and 

^perfect  because  the  individual  claims  to  be  "  not  under 
the  law,  but  under  grace."  Why,  it  is  almost  as  monstrous 
as  the  proposal  a  good  young  man  made  to  his  landlady, 
that  his  own  excellent  Christian  example  should  serve  in 
lieu  of  weekly  payment  for  his  lodgings.  A  man — I  don't 
care  who  he  is — dishonours  Christ,  when  any  other  person 
is  put  to  disadvantage  by  his  piety.  If  you  imagine  you 
are  more  free  to  do  slip-shod  work  because  you  are  a 
Christian,  I  say  it  is  precisely  the  reverse. 

It  is  just  because  you  claim  to  be  the  Lord's  that  any 
sort  of  work  will  not  do.  Bearing  His  name,  you  are 
responsible  to  Him  for  every  detail  of  your  daily  life. 
If  your  secular  duties  are  more  imperfectly  discharged 
because  you  are  a  believer,  you  do  great  wrong  to  the 
Redeemer.  If  you  snatch  a  little  of  your  employer's  time 
to  scatter  tracts,  or  prepare  for  a  Sabbath  class,  or  even 
to  read  your  Bible  ;  or  if,  in  business  hours,  your  thoughts 
are  so  given  to  spiritual  themes  that  you  cannot  do  justice 
to  your  work,  in  any  of  these  cases  you  do  real  harm  to 
religion.  A  man's  piety  is  of  the  true  sort  only  when  it 
helps  to  make  him — if  an  artisan,  a  better  workman  ;  if  in 
an  office,  a  better  clerk ;  if  behind  the  counter,  a  better 
salesman  than  he  would  have  been  without  it.  Our  re- 
ligion is  given  us  to  be  a  universal  blessing,  to  sharpen  our 
faculties,  to  quicken  our  diligence,  to  increase  our  likelihood 
of  success.  If  you  have  the  grace  of  God  in  your  heart, 
as  the  spring  of  your  whole  life,  you  have  the  promise  of 


262  The  City  Youth, 

the  first  Psalm,  "And  whatsoever  he  doeth  shall  prosper." 
You  have  the  guarantee  of  the  highest  of  all  success. 
This  may  not  always  mean  earthly  abundance  and  ease  ; 
for  it  sometimes  happens  that  a  man's  best  days  are  those 
in  which  he  has  the  least  of  the  world's  smile  ;  but  if  your 
heart  is  right  with  God,  all  must  be  well ;  and  we  know 
who  has  said  that  "the  little  that  a  righteous  man  hath, 
is  better  than  the  abundance  of  many  wicked." 

Remember,  then,  that  religion  is  something  within 
you,  working  outward  from  the  centre,  and  that  centre 
a  heart  possessed  by  the  grace  of  God.  It  is  not,  as 
too  many  imagine  it,  a  reformation  commencing  in  the 
outer  circumference  of  one's  life  and  habits,  and  then 
working  its  way  inwards  to  the  core  till  the  heart  is  reached 
and  changed ;  nay,  but  it  takes  its  start  in  the  innermost 
recesses  of  our  being,  and  from  thence  reaches  outwards, 
till  the  whole  character  and  conduct  are  brought  under  its 
blissful  sway.  Ah !  brothers,  you  have  the  rough  world 
before  you,  with  its  buffetings,  and  its  trials,  and  its  diffi- 
culties, and  its  snares ;  and  there  is  not  one  of  you  that 
will  not  find  your  greatest  need  of  all  to  be  true  religion- 
Even  Robert  Burns  wrote  to  a  friend : — 

"  When  rantin'  roun'  in  pleasure's  ring, 

Religion  may  be  blinded  ; 
And  if  she  gie  a  random  sting, 

But  little  may  be  minded. 
But  when  on  life  we're  tempest-tossed, 

And  conscience  but  a  canker, 
A  correspondence  fixed  wi'  Heaven, 

Is  sure  a  noble  anchor." 

That  correspondence  with  Heaven  can  be  enjoyed  only 
through  Him  who  is  the  "One  Mediator  between  God 
and  man,  the  Man  Christ  Jesus." 

Lord,  let  my  hope  rest  there  alone !  "  Have  you  no 
doubts,  no  fears  }  "  asked  a  friend  of  Sir  David  Brewster, 


I'^ighi,  but  not  Perfect,  263 

the  eminent  scientific  philosopher,  as  he  lay  on  his  bed  of 
death.  "None;  the  blood  of  Christ  has  washed  away  my 
sins  ;  I  have  life  in  Christ ;  this  I  am  sure  of,  for  God 
has  said  it."  **  Have  you  no  difficulty  in  believing  the 
bible.?"  his  friend  further  inquired,  knowing  how  scep- 
ticism prevailed  amongst  scientific  men.  "  None,"  he 
replied;  adding,  "Alas!  few  receive  the  truth  of  Jesus. 
But  why  }  It  is  the  pride  of  intellect,  forgetting  its  own 
limits,  stepping  beyond  its  own  province.  How  little  the 
wisest  of  mortals  know  of  anything  !  How  preposterous 
of  worms  to  think  of  fathoming  the  counsels  of  the 
Almighty  !  "  "  But,  do  the  Christian  mysteries  give  you 
no  trouble  7  "  ""  No.  Why  should  they  ?  We  are  sur- 
rounded by  mysteries.  My  own  being  is  a  mystery — I 
cannot  explain  the  relation  of  my  soul  to  my  body.  Every- 
body believes  much  which  he  cannot  understand.  The 
Trinity  and  the  Atonement  are  a  great  deep  ;  so  is  eternity; 
so  is  Providence.  It  gives  me  no  uneasiness  that  I  cannot 
explain  them.  They  are  secret  things  that  belong  to  God. 
I  thank  God  the  way  of  salvation  is  so  simple  ;  no  laboured 
argument,  no  high  attainment  is  required.  To  believe  in 
the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  to  live  ;  I  trust  in  Him,  and 
enjoy  His  peace." 

Such  were  among  the  latest  words  of  one  of  the  most 
eminent  of  the  scientific  men  of  our  day.  It  was  my 
privilege  to  know  the  man  who  uttered  them.  He  was 
constitutionally  slow  to  believe  anything  that  was  not 
established  on  good  evidence.  I  thank  God  for  the  dying 
testimony  of  such  a  man.  It  does  me  good  to  recall  it, 
and  to  tell  it.  What  served  for  him,  may  do  for  you,  and 
for  me.  Oh,  get  the  matter  settled  now ;  come  over  at 
once  to  the  safe  landing-place  which  the  Gospel  provides ; 
so  will  you  have  the  guarantee  of  a  successful  life,  a 
peaceful  death,  and  glorious  eternity !     Amen. 


NOT  FAR    FROM    THE    KINGDOM, 


*'  Ihou  art  not  far  from  the  kingdom  ofGod^—MA^YL  xii.  34- 


XIX. 

NOT  FAR  FROM  THE  KINGDOM. 

YOU  may  be  very  near  the  kingdom,  and  yet  never 
enter  it ;  and  of  all  cases  of  spiritual  ruin,  there  are 
none  so  melancholy,  none  so  sad,  as  of  those  who  were 
almost  saved,  and  yet  were  lost !  It  has  been  a  painful 
feature  of  the  disasters  at  sea  that  have  occurred  in  our 
time,  that  so  many  of  them  have  happened  to  vessels  just 
at  the  close  of  a  long  and  successful  voyage,  and  when  the 
haven  was  in  view.  Never  shall  I  forget  the  shock  pro- 
duced over  twenty  years  ago,  when  the  news  reached  us 
of  the  foundering  of  the  Royal  Charter,  with  nearly  all  on 
board.  Ah !  melancholy  story  !  The  mighty  ocean  had 
been  traversed  in  safety ;  and  the  passengers,  after  their 
long  imprisonment,  were  making  ready  to  step  on  shore, 
when,  almost  within  an  arm's  length  of  land,  they  were 
swept  into  a  watery  grave ! 

What  became  of  this  hopeful  young  lawyer  I  cannot  tell. 
Whether  he  actually  reached  and  entered  the  kingdom  he 
was  so  near  to,  we  are  not  informed ;  but  there  is  some- 
thing so  interesting  in  his  character,  and  there  are  (as  I 
imagine)  so  many  here  this  evening  just  in  his  position, 
that  it  may  be  useful  to  us  to  inquire  what  is  the  precise 
meaning  of  the  text,  and  in  what  respects  it  could  be 
said  of  this  man,  that  he  was  "  not  far  from  the  kingdom 
of  God'." 


268  The  City  Yoicfh. 

No  doubt  there  is  a  sense,  in  which,  until  we  are  born 
again,  we  are  all  equally  far  from  the  kingdom.  The  differ- 
ence between  the  dead  and  the  living,  between  the  dark- 
ness of  midnight  and  the  radiance  of  noon,  is  one — not  of 
degree,  but  of  kind.  Until  we  have  entered  the  kingdom 
of  grace,  we  are  all  alike  (^so  says  the  Word)  *'dead  in 
trespasses  and  sins  :  "  and,  amongst  a  number  of  corpses, 
how  can  there  be  degrees  of  deadness  or  of  vitality  } 
There  is  some  truth  here  ;  but  it  is  truth  that  requires 
to  be  wisely  and  guardedly  stated.  There  is  a  hard  and 
extravagant  way  of  stating  it  that  is  repugnant  to  thought- 
ful and  cultured  minds,  and  sometimes  brings  the  Gospel 
into  ridicule.  There  cannot  be  a  question  that,  of  persons 
who  are  as  yet  unsaved,  some  are  nearer  to  salvation  than 
others.  There  are  circumstances  in  life,  there  are  elements 
of  character,  there  are  conditions  of  mind,  which  make 
this  man's  case  more  hopeful  than  that,  and  his  conversion 
a  thing  less  to  be  wondered  at.  Now,  I  am  not  going 
to  draw  upon  fancy,  in  suggesting  certain  things  which 
prove  one  to  be  near  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  but,  making 
a  study  of  this  young  scribe,  I  shall  point  out  four  features 
of  his  case,  which  probably  brought  to  our  Lord's  lips 
the  words  of  my  text. 

I.  He  was  "  not  far  from  the  kingdom,"  because  he  had 
begun  to  think  seriously  on  religion.  You  observe  that,  in 
his  manner  and  language,  there  is  not  a  trace  of  frivolity 
or  captiousness.  It  is  true  that  Matthew  says  of  him, 
that  he  "asked  Christ  a  question,  tempting  Him;"  but 
the  word  there  employed  does  not  necessarily  embrace  the 
idea  of  the  sinister  or  malicious,  and  denotes  nothing  more 
than  a  spirit  searching  after  truth.  This  spirit  of  earnest, 
reverential  inquiry  is  one  to  be  commended  and  en- 
couraged, and  rarely  leads  a  man  into  the  entanglements 
of  error. 


A^ot  Far  frojn  the  Kingdom,  269 

There  are  some  minds  so  constituted  as  to  have  an 
innate  tendency  to  scepticism.  They  doubt  everything. 
They  cannot  accept  any  proposition  until  it  is  demon- 
strated to  them  by  an  invincible  logic.  Remember,  there 
are  two  gates  to  our  inner  nature ;  there  is  the  gate  of 
the  head,  and  the  gate  of  the  heart.  Well,  there  are  men 
who  say,  "  If  you  want  to  get  at  my  soul,  you  must  come 
at  it  by  the  gate  of  the  head.  You  must  deal  with  my 
intellect.     You  must  convince  my  reason." 

I  am  not  one  of  those  who  will  say  sharp  and  severe 
things  to  such  persons.  My  sympathy  with  them  is  too 
profound  to  speak  to  them  reproachfully  and  bitterly. 
Their  mental  agony  is  quite  deep  enough,  without  being 
intensified  by  the  cruel  taunts  of  those  who  have  no  such 
difficulties.  It  is  when  I  see  a  man  with  the  smallest 
modicum  of  intellect,  and  the  largest  stock  of  self-conceit, 
attempting  to  grapple  with  questions  he  is  no  more  quali- 
fied to  touch  than  a  little  dog  is  to  teach  astronomy;  when 
I  see  such  a  man,  ignorant,  brainless,  and  incompetent, 
deliberately  plunging  into  scepticism,  it  is  then  that  (I  con- 
fess) sympathy  gives  place  to  indignation,  and  that  I  think 
of  Solomon's  adage:  "A  whip  for  the  horse,  a  bridle  for 
the  ass,  and  a  rod  for  the  fooi's  back." 

But  this  young  barrister  with  whom  Christ  was  dealing 
was  a  man  accustomed  to  think.  His  profession  was  one 
fitted  to  sharpen  his  wits,  and  train  him  to  weigh  evidence. 
There  is  no  class  of  men  more  exposed  to  the  assaults  of 
infidelity  than  the  legal  profession.  Argument  and  con- 
troversy are  the  very  atmosphere  in  which  they  live.  They 
are  so  accustomed  to  ignore  the  emotions,  and  magnify  the 
reason,  that  it  would  almost  seem  as  though  the  religion  of 
Jesus,  which  is  a  simple  fiiatter  of  faith,  had  little  chance 
with  them.  And  yet  the  legal  profession  has  furnished 
some  of  the  most  ardent  followers  of  Christ  and  His  Gospel. 


270  The  City  Youth, 

From  the  days  of  **  Zenas  the  lawyer,"  for  whom  St.  Paul 
had  a  special  regard  and  affection  (for  when  he  wrote  to 
Titus  that  he  was  going  to  spend  the  winter  in  Nicopolis, 
he  requested  him  to  come,  and  "  bring  Zenas  the  lawyer  " 
with  him) — I  say,  from  the  days  of  Zenas  the  profession 
of  the  law  has  yielded  many  a  bright  ornament  of  the 
Christian  faith — as  Blackstone  and  Wilberforce,  and  Chief 
Justices  Marshall,  and  Tenderden,  and  Campbell,  and 
Sir  Thomas  More,  and  last,  but  not  least,  I  might  name 
the  late  Lord  Chancellor  of  England,  who  (to  his  honour 
be  it  said)  on  the  Saturday  would  be  seated  on  the  wool- 
sack, and  on  the  Sunday  might  be  seen  teaching  a  class 
in  the  Sabbath  School. 

Well  now,  a  man  may  be  said  to  be  **  not  far  from  the 
kingdom,"  when  he  really  thinks  seriously  upon  religion. 
Bear  in  mind,  the  converse  is  just  as  true.  The  person 
who  has  no  serious  thoughts  upon  the  subject  is  very 
distant  from  salvation. 

It  is  perfectly  marvellous  how  little  some  people  think 
on  the  matter  at  all.  The  great  evil  is,  we  cannot  get  them 
to  think.  I  had  rather  hear  a  man  start  all  manner  of 
difficult  questions,  and  raise  all  sorts  of  objections,  than 
remain  in  that  utterly  dead,  boorish  condition  of  mind, 
in  which  tens  of  thousands  of  our  population  are  living, 
as  though  they  had  no  soul  within  them  at  all. 

I  have  noticed  a  person  with  something  wrong  with 
his  hand.  When  informed  by  the  physician  that  he 
must  lose  a  finger,  how  he  sickened  at  the  thought ! 
"Doctor,  can't  you  save  it  ?"  he  imploringly  asks.  Why, 
he  is  as  much  taken  up  about  that  poor  finger  as  though 
it  were  worth  the  whole  world  to  him.  But  if  I  say  to  him 
you  are  going  to  lose  your  soul — no  concern,  no  anxiety, 
no  dismay  !     "  Far  from  the  kingdom  of  God  !  " 

A  little  boy  picked  up  a  bright  stone,  and  ran  with  it  to 


Not  Far  from  the  Kinordoin,  271 

the  jeweller's,  and  said,  "  What  will  you  give  me  for  this?" 
The  jeweller  gave  him  sixpence,  and  the  boy  was  pleased 
and  went  away.  He  did  not  know  its  value.  It  was  a 
diamond,  and  was  worth  ;£'5o.  So  the  great  mass  of  people 
do  not  know  the  worth  of  the  soul ;  they  have  no  concep- 
tion of  it.  When  once  they  begin  to  realise  this,  their 
case  is  hopeful.  I  have  said  a  man  is  not  far  from  the 
kingdom  when  he  has  began  to  think  seriously  upon 
religion.  I  emphasise  that  word  "  seriously."  I  hope 
nobody  will  charge  me  with  preaching  a  morose,  gloomy 
Christianity.  But,  at  the  same  time  I  must  frankly  say 
that  one  of  the  greatest  evils  of  our  day  is  levity,  flippancy, 
frivolity.  There  is  a  generation  that  seem  incapable  of 
treating  any  subject  other  than  lightly,  and  on  its  amusing 
side.  They  must  jest  at  everything.  On  the  gravest 
themes  they  must  have  their  laugh  and  their  joke.  They 
are  never  earnest  and  solemn.  They  are  for  ever  flinging 
out  some  poor  criticism  or  wretched  pun.  Even  religion 
meets  with  the  same  treatment  at  their  hands. 

This  is  a  dangerous  aptitude,  and  should  be  sternly 
checked.  These  are  matters  too  sacred  and  awful  to  be 
sported  with.  They  dare  not  be  handled  but  in  a  reverent 
spirit.  And  because  this  lawyer — though  not  avowedly 
a  Christian — was  evidently  thinking  seriously  upon  religion, 
and  (as  proved  by  his  intelligent  question)  was  devoutly 
feeling  his  way,  and  seeking  further  light,  our  Lord 
looked  him  kindly  in  the  face,  and  said,  "Thou  art  not 
far  from  the  kingdom  of  God." 

II.  He  was  "  not  far  from  the  kingdom,"  because  he 
had  already  begun  to  attach  greater  importajice  to  the  spirit 
than  to  the  letter.  I  have  the  fullest  conviction  that 
our  Lord  was  struck  with  this  feature  of  his  case,  and 
regarded  it  as  pre-eminently  hopeful.  Indeed,  it  was 
quite  remarkable.     I  am  amazed  to  find  a  young  Jewish 


272  The  City  Youth, 

scribe  so  far  advanced.  He  had  come  to  see  that  the 
spiritual  side  of  religion  was  of  far  greater  importance 
than  its  ceremonial.  "  To  love  the  Lord  vvith  all  one's 
heart,  and  to  love  one's  neighbour  as  oneself,  was  more," 
he  said,  **  than  all  whole  burnt  offerings  and  sacrifices." 
"■  True  piety  is  more  a  thing  of  the  heart  and  of  the  life, 
than  of  outward  observances  and  ritual.  It  is  not  by  legal 
forms,  and  services,  and  ceremonies,  and  so  forth,  that  we 
please  God,  but  by  a  character  and  deportment  that  breathe 
the  law  of  love."  This  was  astonishing  to  come  from  one 
educated  as  he  had  been,  and  with  so  little  opportunity  of 
Christian  instruction.  I  wish  we  had  him  in  England 
to-day,  to  put  to  shame  a  lot  of  young,  silly,  empty-headed 
Ritualists,  that  are  all  for  form  and  religious  show;  and 
appear  to  think  that  **the  burnt  offerings  and  sacrifices" 
are  the  main  thing,  and  a  v>^ork  of  grace  within,  a  very 
secondary  consideration.  I  honestly  believe  that  were 
our  Lord  personally  on  earth,  and  did  He  deign  to  take 
notice  of  one  of  these  full-fledged  High  Churchmen,  who 
make  so  much  of  "  our  beautiful  service,"  and  are  such 
sticklers  for  every  punctilio  of  ritual,  and  such  observers 
of  every  form  and  every  festival,  and  are  so  much  superior 
in  their  own  judgment  to  other  Christians,  and  so  much 
nearer  to  heaven,  I  verily  believe  He  would  startle  him 
with  the  statement,  "  Thou  art  far  from  the  kingdom  of 
God." 

The  whole  tone  of  our  Lord's  teaching  indicated  that 
He  regarded  the  self-complacent  Pharisees,  with  all  their 
finical  observance  of  outward  ritual,  their  cleansing  of  the 
cup  and  platter,  their  tithing  of  rue,  and  anise,  and 
cummin,  and  so  forth,  as  standing  in  the  outermost  circles 
of  remoteness  from  the  kingdom  ;  indeed.  He  was  plain 
enough  to  say  that  "the  publicans  and  harlots"  would 
enter  it  before  them. 


A^ot  Far  from  the  Kingdom.  2']2t 

Amid  so  much  superstition  and  mere  externalism  of 
religious  worship  as  existed  around  Him,  it  must  have  been 
refreshing  to  the  heart  of  Christ  to  meet  with  one  who 
rose  above  this  low  and  miserable  level,  and  was  able,  so 
far,  to  break  through  the  crust  of  a  lifeless  conventionalism, 
as  to  see  that  rites  and  oblations,  sacrifices  and  offerings, 
were  nothing,  so  long  as  the  heart  was  not  charged  with 
love  to  God  and  to  man.  Surely  it  is,  or  ought  to  be,  ex- 
ceedingly instructive  to  us  (especially  in  times  when  there 
is  manifest  in  certain  quarters  a  retrograde  tendency,  a  dis- 
position to  make  less  of  the  spirit,  and  more  of  the  letter), 
it  ought  to  be  instructive,  to  notice  how  much  real  pleasure 
our  Lord  derived  from  the  sight  of  this  young  man's  spiritual 
penetration,  and  what  beaming  smiles  of  loving  regard 
He  bestowed  on  one  who  was  able  thus  far  to  tear  himself 
away  from  the  artificialism  of  an  almost  obsolete  ritual. 

Do  we  not  learn  here  that,  when  a  man  comes  to 
receive  Divine  truth  in  its  spiritual  meaning,  and  to 
realise  the  need  of  a  heart  filled  with  holy  love,  he  is  in 
a  hopeful  condition  of  soul  ?  As  a  German  theologian 
profoundly  observes  upon  this  passage  :  *'  He  who  recog- 
nises the  worth  of  love  is  near  the  kingdom  of  God  ;  he 
who  has  himself  felt  it,  is  in  that  kingdom."  I  may  be  now 
addressing  some  one  who  cannot,  who  dare  not,  confidently 
say  that  the  love  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  his  heart ;  and 
yet  he  can  truly  testify  that  he  is  beginning  to  see  that  the 
real  beauty  of  religion  is  here  ;  he  can  honestly  assert — 

"  Thou  hidden  Love  of  God,  whose  height. 
Whose  depih  unfathom'd,  no  man  knows 

I  see  from  far  Thy  beauteous  light, 
Lily  I  sigh  for  Thy  repose  ; 

My  heart  is  pained,  nor  can  it  be 
At  rest,  till  it  find  rest  in  Thee." 

Dear  brother,  "  thou  art  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God/* 

i8 


274  The  City  Youth. 

III.  This  young  man  was  pronounced  "  not  far  from  the 
kingdom  of  God/'  because  he  was  sincerely  desirous  of 
acting  up  to  the  measure  of  light  which  he  possessed.  It  is 
evident  that  he  was  no  frivolous  caviller,  merely  wanting 
to  raise  an  argument  and  display  his  own  cleverness  and 
learning.  Nothing  of  the  kind  ;  he  was  one  sincerely  and 
anxiously  groping  and  struggling  towards  the  light — de- 
sirous to  know  the  will  of  God,  in  order  that  he  might  do  it. 

Now,  you  all  remember  that  notable  word  of  Christ's — 
"  If  any  man  will  do  his  will,"  rather,  "  If  any  man  be 
willing  to  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine,  whether 
it  be  of  God."  The  humble  and  ingenuous  seeker  after 
truth  is  rarely  left  in  the  dark  ;  and  he  who  practises  the 
little  that  he  does  know  is  "  nearer  the  kingdom  "  than  he 
who  has  large  knowledge  which  he  does  not  practise. 

It  is  my  misfortune  occasionally  to  meet  with  persons 
who  are  nothing  if  not  disputatious  and  controversial :  they 
cannot  touch  a  subject  without  getting  into  argument ; 
they  have  a  fatal  facility  of  raising  objections  to  every 
evangelical  doctrine :  theological  pugilists,  religious 
Ishmaels,  their  hand  is  against  every  man's.  Well,  these 
persons  are  about  the  most  hopeless  to  deal  with  ;  you  can 
only  leave  them  to  their  own  miserable  self-sufficiency.  I 
know  no  class  further  from  the  kingdom  of  God.  I  don't 
think  there  are  any  of  them  here  this  evening,  but  if  there 
are,  I  would  say  to  them,  you  had  better  just  lay  down  your 
weapons  at  once,  and,  as  poor,  helpless  sinners,  bow  to 
the  plain  teaching  of  this  Book.  I  invite  you  back  to  the 
good  old-fashioned  religion  of  your  fathers,  to  the  God 
whom  they  worshipped,  to  the  Christ  they  adored,  to  the 
promises  on  which  they  leaned,  to  the  cross  on  Vvhich  they 
hung  their  eternal  hopes.  You  have  not  been  happy  a  day 
since  you  broke  off  from  the  Gospel  anchorage,  and  you 
will  not  be  happy  till  you  come  back  to  it  again. 


Not  Far  from  the  Kingdom,  275 

But  the  text  gives  me  comfort  in  regard  to  a  class  of 
minds  we  are  often  anxious  about.  Have  not  most  of  us 
got  a  friend  whose  religious  condition  has  been  making 
us  uneasy  ?  We  fear  he  is  getting  off  the  rails.  He  has 
imbibed  some  strange  notions.  His  philosophical  tenden- 
cies are  carrying  him  away  from  the  old  landmarks.  We 
hardly  know  what  he  believes.  He  doesn't  know  himself. 
But  one  thing  we  do  know,  that,  dear  fellow,  he  is 
honestly  seeking  the  light.  He  is  passionately  thirsting 
after  truth ;  and  he  is  thirsting  after  it  that  he  may  make 
it  his  own,  and  bring  his  whole  life  under  its  guidance 
and  power.  Like  this  intelligent  young  barrister,  he  is 
an  honest,  a  simple-minded,  a  true-hearted  inquirer. 
Well,  don't  despair  of  him.  He  is  quite  as  near  the 
kingdom  as  this  man  was,  and  Jesus  said  he  was  not  far 
off  from  it.  Only  cease  not  to  pray,  that  the  Gospel  in 
all  its  glory  may  shine  into  his  soul. 

IV.  I  have  one  thing  more  to  say  (and  I  hope  none 
of  you  will  misunderstand  it),  this  man  was  declared  by 
Christ  to  be  **  not  far  from  the  kingdom  of  God,"  because 
he  was  amiable  and  virtuous.  He  was  strictly  moral,  cir- 
cumspect, and  pure.  He  was  a  gentleman,  a  man  of  sound 
principle  and  good  breeding. 

I  don't  say  this  merely  because  he  was  a  lawyer,'  God 
forbid.  There  are  in  that  profession  as  consummate 
rogues  as  ever  walked  the  earth.  There  were  fishermen 
in  Galilee  as  thorough  gentlemen  as  you  could  meet  with. 
It  is  not  a  man's  calling  or  his  money  that  settles  this 
point. 

But  you  see  at  a  glance  what  sort  of  a  person  this 
young  scribe  is.  Courteous,  refined,  pure-minded,  high- 
principled,  he  is  a  gentleman,  every  inch  of  him.  He  has 
not  been  the  slave  of  his  passions,  he  has  not  run  a  career 
of  riotousness  and  vice :  he  has  been  a  moral,  well-con- 


276  The  City   Youth. 

ducted  man,   and  because  of  this   is  "  not  far  from  the 
kingdom  of  God." 

Llark,  I  know  that  that  amiability  and  virtue  would  not 
bring  him  into  the  kingdom.  All  the  graces  and  excel- 
lencies of  the  most  cultured  humanity  could  not  save 
him.  Moreover,  had  he  been  the  vilest  scapegrace  upon 
earth,  Divine  mercy  could  have  dragged  him  out  of  the 
mire,  and  pulled  him  into  the  kingdom.  All  true,  and  yet 
I  say,  and  say  it  with  emphasis,  because  it  needs  to  be 
said,  that  his  high-toned  principle  and  character  were  in 
his  favour,  and  made  his  salvation  more  probable  than  had 
they  been  otherwise.  If  Christ  said  that  the  "  publicans 
and  harlots  would  enter  the  kingdom  sooner  than  the 
self-righteous  Pharisees,"  it  was  not  because  the  latter  had 
not  plunged  into  open  vice,  or  because  He  wished  to  put 
a  premium  upon  outward  profligacy.  All  that  He  meant 
was  that  the  pride  and  self-esteem  of  these  Pharisees  placed 
them,  notwithstanding  their  moral  correctness,  at  a  further 
distance  from  God  than  even  the  gross  wickedness  of  the 
class  whom  they  despised. 

It  is  perfectly  detestable  to  hear  the  way  in  which  some 
well-meaning,  but  very  foolish  and  ignorant,  people  speak 
at  the  present  day,  as  though  depth  in  vice  were  the  most 
fitting  qualification  for  receiving  the  Gospel.  At  mission 
halls  and  revival  meetings,  things  are  said  fitted  to  convey 
the  impression  that  other  things  being  equal,  the  de- 
bauchee, the  libertine,  and  the  profligate  are  positively 
more  acceptable  to  God  than  those  whose  lives  are  morally 
pure  ;  and  if  some  vile  wretch  has  been  picked  up  out  of 
the  gutter  of  bestiality,  and  persuaded  to  utter  the  Gospel 
**  shibboleth,"  he  is  trotted  out  before  the  community  as 
a  living  proof  that,  compared  with  the  better  classes  of 
society,  drunkards  and  blackguards  are  the  nearest  to  the 
kingdom  of  God. 


Not  Far  fr 0711  the  Kingdom,  277 

I  call  this  a  blasphemous  burlesque  of  the  Gospel.  I 
say  that  this  sensational  evangelicalism  is  as  hateful  as  it 
is  unscriptural.  It  is  high  time  that  public  opinion  was 
brought  to  bear  vehemently  upon  it.  Had  this  scribe 
(though  in  all  other  respects  as  we  find  him)  been  a  gross 
libertine,  I  undertake  for  my  Master  to  assert  that  He 
would  not  have  addressed  to  him  the  words  of  my  text. 
So  long  as  a  man  is  going  on  in  sin,  he  is  searing  his 
conscience,  and  hardening  his  heart,  and  building  up 
obstacles  against  his  return  to  God.  Be  you  very  sure 
of  this,  "that  all  the  way  has  to  be  travelled  back,  and 
that  downward  slopes  of  iniquity  are  hard  to  climb 
again."  Let  only  the  moral  and  upright  man  be  as 
free  of  self-sufficiency  as  presumably  the  awakened  profli- 
gate is,  he  is  by  so  much  the  nearer  to  he  kingdom  of 
God. 

Ah !  brethren,  I  am  addressing  some  this  evening  in 
whom  are  united  all  these  four  elements  of  hopefulness, 
which  I  have  just  been  describing  ;  and  yet  they  are  not 
saved  !  Thank  God  you  have  begun  to  think  seriously  on 
religion ;  you  do  realise  the  much  greater  importance  of  a 
new  heart  than  all  outward  form  and  ritual  ;  you  do  sin- 
cerely desire  to  act  up  to  the  knowledge  you  possess ;  and 
you  have  thus  far  been  kept  back  from  open  and  pre- 
sumptuous sin  :  you  are  "  not  far  from  the  kingdom  ;  "  but 
oh  !  remember,  what  of  that,  if  you  be  not  in  it  ?  Your 
very  nearness  to  it  may  be  your  danger.  If  some  are  so 
very  far  away  that  their  distance  makes  them  almost  de- 
spair of  ever  reaching  it,  there  are  others  (and  you  may  be 
of  the  number)  that  are  so  near  that  they  never  question 
their  safety,  and  so  are  in  careless  apathy.  Those  that  are 
far  off  may  come  to  be  nigh,  whilst  those  that  are  nigh 
may  be  shut  out  for  ever !  The  little  distance  that  still 
separates  you  from  salvation,  may  prove  as  fatal  as  though 


278  The  City  Youth, 

it  were  10,000  leagues.  A  chain  is  utterly  useless,  if  it  be 
but  one  link  too  short. 

Oh,  my  brother  !  I  put  it  solemnly  to  you  to-night.  Is 
there  not  one  link  wanting  ?  Can  you  face  the  coming 
eternity  with  that  chain  still  incomplete  } 

A  young  man  was  travelling  on  the  railway  at  a  part 
where  the  gradient  was  exceedingly  steep.  He  felt  some- 
what uneasy,  and  said  to  one  beside  him,  "What  if  the 
locomotive  power  should  fail,  where  should  we  be } " 
"Oh,"  said  the  other,  "there  is  a  powerful  brake ^on  the 
engine."  "  But  suppose  that  should  fail,  where  should 
we  be.?"  ** There's  a  brake  at  the  end  of  the  train." 
"  But  if  that  also  should  give  way,  where  should  we  land  }  " 
"That  depends  upon  the  state  of  your  soul."  Have  your 
soul  right  with  God,  through  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  whatever  contingencies  come,  all  must  be  well.  Grasp 
the  hand  of  the  Redeemer,  and  He  will  pull  you  up  to  the 
eternal  shore !     Amen. 


THE    ANCHOR    OF   THE    SOUL. 


An  anchor  of  the  soul,  both  sure  and  steadfast. — HEBREWS  vi.  I9. 


XX. 

THE  ANCHOR  OF  THE  SOUL. 

THERE  are  many  things  which  a  sailor  holds  to  be 
essential  when  he  goes  out  to  sea.  For  example,  he 
must  have  sufficient  provisions  for  the  voyage ;  he  must 
have  an  ample  supply  of  rope  and  canvas,  and  a  sound 
helm,  and  an  accurate  compass,  and  so  forth  ;  but  there  is 
no   article  that   is  more  absolutely  indispensable  than  a 

stout  ANCHOR. 

The  captain  who  should  go  out  to  sea  without  this  on 
board  would  be  deemed  a  madman  ;  and  when,  as  some- 
times has  happened  in  a  heavy  storm,  a  ship  loses  her 
anchor,  the  loss  is  incalculable. 

An  anchor,  as  you  all  know,  is  a  heavy  iron  instrument 
that  is  used  to  hold  a  vessel  steady  in  a  particular  spot ; 
and  though  we  have  no  means  of  ascertaining  the  name  of 
the  man  who'  invented  it,  there  is  not  a  doubt  he  has  con- 
ferred an  inestimable  blessing  on  the  world,  and  has  been 
the  means  of  saving  thousands  of  human  lives ;  so  that  I 
do  not  wonder  to  have  often  noticed,  as  a  sailor  tucked  up 
his  sleeve,  a  little  image  of  an  anchor  neatly  tattooed  upon 
his  arm. 

The  Apostle  Paul  was  no  stranger  to  the  sea.  Indeed, 
he  was  an  old  sailor,  not  from  choice  but  of  necessity.  As 
the  first  Christian  missionary,  he  had  great  distances  to 
travel;  and  though  the  risks  and  discomforts  of  a  voyage 
v/ere  much  greater  in  those  times  than  they  are  now,  Lc 


282  The  City   YuuiL 

had  to  accomplish  most  of  his  long  journeys  by  sea.  I 
suppose  there  were  few  of  the  leading  ports  on  the 
Mediterranean  which  he  did  not  know  nearly  as  well  as 
you  and  I  know  our  own  street. 

Some  of  us,  if  we  speak  of  nautical  matters,  are  almost 
certain  to  make  a  blunder.  Landsmen  as  we  are,  we  know 
very  little  about  the  names  of  the  various  sails  and  other 
parts  of  the  furniture  of  a  ship.  The  sailors  laugh  at  us 
when  we  speak  of  these  things.  It  was  quite  different 
with  Paul.  He  was  thoroughly  at  home  on  board  ship. 
He  knew  perfectly  what  he  was  talking  about  when  he 
borrowed  a  figure  from  the  sea.  Many  were  the  tedious 
voyages  he  had  made,  and  many  the  narrow  escapes.  In 
that  dreadful  storm  he  encountered  in  the  Gulf  of  Adria, 
when  the  vessel  went  scudding  under  bare  poles,  he  was 
the  only  self-possessed  man  on  board ;  and  even  after 
captain  and  crew  had  given  up  hope,'  and  were  expecting 
every  moment  to  go  to  the  bottom,  he  turned  a  cheerful 
look  to  them,  and  said,  "  Keep  up  your  hearts,  for  not  a 
man  of  you  shall  be  lost !  " 

It  was  no  light  matter  to  cross  the  Mediterranean  when 
the  fierce  euroclydon  was  blowing.  For  fourteen  terrible 
days  and  nights  were  Paul  and  his  companions  tossed  up 
and  down  on  the  heaving  waves,  the  groaning  ship  a  mere 
plaything  for  the  gale,  when  suddenly  amid  the  din  of  the 
storm  tlie  sailors  thought  they  heard  the  roar  of  breakers 
Ihrougli  t'.ie  midnight  gloom.  At  once  they  suspected  that 
some  land  was  near,  and  dropping  the  lead,  found  they 
were  in  twenty  fathoms  of  water.  Still,  on  the  ship  flics 
before  the  gale  ;  lo,  now  the  man  on  the  look-out  sees,  by 
a  flash  of  lightning,  a  long  white  line  of  foam.  Down 
with  the  plumb-line  again,  depth  only  fifteen  fathoms. 
The}- are  nearing  the  shore  I  They  may  be  shattered  on 
the  reefs  !     Not  an   instant  to  be  lost.     Let  Paul  himself 


The  Anc/io)-  of  the  Soul.  283 

describe  to  you  what  followed :  "  Then,  fearing  lest  we 
should  have  fallen  upon  rocks,  we  cast  four  anchors  out  of 
the  stern,  and  wished  for  the  day." 

The  word  anchor  occurs  only  in  one  other  passage  in 
the  whole  Bible,  and  that  is  where  the  same  Apostle 
speaks  of  "  an  anchor  0/  ihe  souly  both  sure  and  steadfast." 

1  want  you  all  to  see  to  it,  that  as  you  set  forth  upon 
the  open  sea  of  another  year  you  possess  this  spiritual 
anchor.  Dear  young  friend^;,  you  need  it.  You  cannot 
be  safe  without  it.  Life  is  a  restless,  unquiet  sea,  full  of 
trouble  and  danger.  You  are  the  ships  that  sail  this  sea, 
and  are  exposed  to  its  changes  and  storms.  Many  of  you 
are  now  just  leaving  the  peaceful  harbour  of  home  with  all  its 
tender  influences,  and  are  putting  forth  upon  the  wide  and 
open  main  ;  and  to  your  limited  vision,  I  daresay,  all  at 
present  seems  fair  and  prosperous  ;  but,  remember,  there 
are  rocks  and  quicksands  to  be  avoided,  and  gales  to  be 
prepared  for,  and  treacherous  currents  to  be  resisted  ;  and 
God,  who  does  not  wish  you  to  be  "  tossed  to  and  fro  by 
every  wind  of  doctrine,"  nor  drifted  at  the  mercy  of  every 
tide,  nor  shipwrecked  on  some  hidden  reef,  has  been 
pleased  to  provide  for  you  a  noble  anchor,  so  that  you 
may  be  held  secure,  and  be  able  to  ride  out  the  fiercest 
storm, 

1  remember  hearing  of  an  infidel  who,  when  laid  upon 
his  last  bed  of  sickness,  was  urged  by  his  godless  com- 
panions not  to  show  the  white  feather,  but  to  hold  on. 
What  do  you  think  was  the  answer  of  the  dying  man  } 
With  a  face  full  of  hopeless  dismay,  he  looki  d  at  them, 
and  said,  "How  can  I  hold  on,  when  I  have  nothing  to 
hold  by.^"  Ah!  he  felt  then  the  need  of  a  spiritual 
grapnel,  something  "sure  and  steadfast"  to  which  he  couhl 
cling.  But  it  is  not  only  in  the  hour  of  death  we  require 
it ;  we  need  it  all  th.-cugh  life. 


284  The  City   Youth, 

Let  us  then  have  a  little  talk  togethei  about  this  "  anchor 
of  the  soul." 

What  is  it  7nade  of?  You  all  know  what  ordinary 
anchors  are  made  of.  In  very  early  times  there  were  no 
such  things  known ;  but  large  stones  with  a  rope  attached 
to  them  were  used  for  the  purpose.  By-and-by  the 
Greeks  began  to  make  them  of  iron,  and  their  example 
has  been  followed  by  all  maritime  nations.  Remember, 
anchor-making  is  a  very  responsible  business ;  for  if  the 
workmen  use  bad  material,  or  do  their  work  carelessly,  it 
may  prove  the  loss  of  a  ship  and  of  all  the  lives  on  board. 
Anchors,  therefore,  are  not  made  of  cast  iron,  but  o 
wrought,  tough,  compact  metal,  strongly  welded,  and  able 
to  bear  the  heaviest  strain.  Nowadays  the  famous 
steam-hammer  of  Nasmyth  or  Massey  is  used  in  the  pre- 
paration of  the  metal,  and  at  the  Government  dockyards 
huge  anchors  are  turned  out  whicli  no  conceivable  force 
will  break.  If  anything  in  the  world  needs  to  be  robust 
and  reliable  it  is  an  anchor,  for  on  its  strength  hundreds 
of  precious  lives  may  depend. 

Well,  what  about  our  spiritual  anchor.?  Ah!  of  how 
much  more  importance  it  is  that  it  be  durable,  seeing  the 
interests  here  at  stake  are  everlasting.  You  cannot  afford 
to  run  any  risks  with  the  soul,  for  it  is  more  valuable  than 
the  whole  world. 

As  you  all  know,  the  most  approved  form  of  anchor  has 
two  great  blades,  or  "flukes"  as  the  sailors  call  them,  so 
that  whichever  way  it  falls  it  will  grasp  the  ground.  May 
I  say  that  ours  is  similarly  provided;  and  the  Apostle 
tells  us  what  they  are.  He  says  that  "  by  two  immutable 
things,  in  which  it  is  impossible  for  God  to  lie,  we  have 
strong  consolation  ;  "  and  when  we  study  the  passage  we 
see  that  these  things  are  the  promise  and  the  oath  of  God. 
These  things  make  our  anchor  "  both  sure  and  steadfast." 


The  Anchor  of  the  SouL  285 

When  a  man  mnl<es  a  promise  we  take  him  at  his  word  ; 
in  ordinary  circumstances  we  do  not  doubt  him.  But  it 
is  possible  for  him  to  forget,  it  is  even  possible  for  him 
to  lie.  Not  so  with  God.  God  can  neither  be  forgetful 
nor  untruthful.  Now,  He  has  promised  eternal  life  to  all 
who  believe  in  Jesus,  and  surrender  themselves  to  Him. 
But  He  has  done  more  than  this.  He  has  condescended 
to  give  us  His  solemn  oath.  When  men  in  their  dealings 
with  one  another  require  the  most  absolute  certainty,  they 
swear  by  the  name  of  the  Highest,  and  that  oath  '*  is  to 
them  for  confirmation  an  end  of  all  strife."  Is  it  not 
wonderful  that  God  should  stoop  so  low  as  to  confirm  His 
promise  by  an  oath  } 

But  observe,  when  men  do  this  they  always  swear  by 
one  greater  than  themselves.  God  has  none  greater  than 
Himself,  so  He  swears  by  His  own  eternal  being,  saying, 
**  As  surely  as  I  live,  saith  the  Lord,  I  have  no  pleasure  in 
the  death  of  the  wicked,  but  rather  that  he  should  turn 
unto  Me  and  live." 

I  remember  how  astonished  and  touched  I  was  when  I 
first  saw  this  truth.  I  wept  with  emotion  at  the  thought 
of  God's  love,  and  His  eager  desire  that  I  should  be 
saved  ;  and  I  "■  fled  for  refuge  to  lay  hold  upon  the  hope 
set  before  me."  I  saw  that  His  promise  and  His  oath 
were  quite  sufficient  for  me  to  cling  to,  and  that  they  could 
never,  never  fail. 

Oh,  my  dear  friends,  it  is  indeed  a  ''strong  consolation" 
which  the  Gospel  provides  for  you ;  when  you  are  linked 
by  faith  to  Jesus  your  soul  is  securely  tethered.  This 
hope  will  never  make  you  ashamed.  It  is  a  powerful,  well- 
wrought  anchor,  welded  by  infinite  might  upon  the  anvil 
of  the  cross,  and  able  to  bear  the  severest  strain. 

Now,  having  seen  what  the  anchor  of  the  -soul  is  made 


286  The  City  Youth. 

of,  I  want  you  to  think  of  this  question — Why  do  you  need 
it  ?  Why  does  a  ship  need  an  anchor  ?  To  keep  it 
steady,  you  say,  and  save  it  from  being  carried  away  by 
wind  and  tide.  If  the  water  were  always  calm,  if  there  were 
no  strong  currents  nor  gales,  and  if  there  were  no  such 
things  as  rocks  and  quicksands,  well,  perhaps  such  an 
article  might  be  dispensed  with. 

But  such  conditions  are  hardly  known  in  this  world ; 
certainly  they  are  not  known  in  spiritual  experience.  Oh, 
how  many  influences  there  are  around  us  that  put  us  in 
danger — temptations  sharp  and  strong ;  currents  of  false 
teaching  and  soul-destroying  error ;  squalls  of  severe  and 
sudden  trial ;  and — woe  be  to  us  if  we  are  not  held  fast 
by  the  anchor  of  Christian  hope  ! 

.  Young  men !  I  tremble  to  think  of  the  perils  to  which 
some  of  you  will  be  exposed.  You  are  just  at  the  time  of 
life  when  many  forms  of  temptation  are  most  subtle  and 
strong.  Perhaps  the  year  you  are  now  entering  may 
bring  you  conflicts  you  had  never  imagined.  Vice  in  its 
most  bewitching  garb  may  do  her  best  to  ensnare  you. 
Wicked  companions  may  try  to  laugh  you  out  of  your 
religion.  You  will  be  like  ships  out  at  sea  when  a  strong 
current  is  running,  or  an  adverse  wind  is  blowing ;  and  if 
you  have  no  anchor  you  can  scarcely  escape  destruction. 
But,  thank  God,  you  are  already  furnished  and  prepared 
for  the  danger ;  and  let  it  come  in  the  direst  form,  you 
will  only  find  your  holdfast  the  more  secure.  Many  is  the 
dear  young  person  I  have  known,  whose  Christian  hope 
made  him  proof  against  temptations  which  otherwise  he 
could  not  have  resisted  ;  nay,  the  ordeal  seemed  to  make 
him  a  more  firm  and  decided  Christian  than  ever.  You 
can  all  understand  that  sometimes  a  stiff  gale  has  only  the 
effect  of  making  the  anchor  hold  more  tightly  than  before. 
When  it  is  first  cast  overboard,  it  may  not  catch  hold  or 


The  Anchor  of  the  Soul,  287 

"bite  the  ground,"  as  the  sailors  say;  but  let  the  blast 
come,  down  goes  the  fluke  till  nothing  can  pull  it  out,  and 
the  more  the  ship  tugs,  the  faster  its  hold  becomes. 

So  I  have  often  seen  it  to  be  with  young  believers, 
when  they  were  made  of  the  right  stuff.  In  the  shop  or 
office  where  they  were  apprenticed  they  had  to  face  an 
amount  of  ridicule  and  banter  which  it  was  very  hard  to 
endure,  but  they  not  only  stood  the  trial,  but  became  more 
decided  and  earnest  than  before,  and  more  vigorous 
Christians  than  others  who  had  no  such  discipline  to  pass 
through. 

Then  an  anchor  is  of  great  value  in  preventijig  a  ship 
from  drifting.  Perhaps  the  vessel  has  for  some  days  been 
making  good  progress  ;  wind  and  tide  have  been  in  her 
favour,  and  she  has  been  gliding  gallantly  along ;  but 
presently  the  wind  lulls,  and  the  current  runs  in  the  wrong 
direction.  What  is  the  captain  to  do  }  Will  he  allow 
himself  to  drift  back,  and  lose  all  the  headway  he  has 
already  made  ?  By  no  means.  Down  goes  the  anchor, 
and  he  secures  that  if  the  ship  does  not  advance,  at  least 
it  will  not  recede. 

Young  converts  will  soon  find  themselves  in  danger  of 
backsliding.  It  is  marvellous  how  soon  you  "  forget  your 
first  love."  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  is  particularly 
emphatic  in  its  warnings  against  backsliding ;  and  if  you 
read  from  the  Revised  Version  the  first  verse  of  the 
second  chapter,  you  will  see  that  the  Apostle  pcems  to  use 
the  very  illustration  before  us.  **  Therefore  we  ought  to 
give  the  more  earnest  heed  to  the  things  that  were  heard, 
lest  haply  zve  drift  away  from  themT  It  is  this  drifting  you 
need  so  carefully  to  guard  against.  Wiien  you  get  out 
into  the  world,  you  will  find  a  strong  current  running  dead 
against  you;  the  influence  of  irreligious  society,  and  of  a 
spurious  charity,  will  tempt  you  to  abate  your  zeal,  and 


2SS  The  City  Youth. 

to  give  up,  one  by  one,  holy  practices  and  vital  truths 
which  once  were  dear  to  you  as  life,  and  you  will  glide 
unconsciously  back  into  an  easy-going   formalism  ;    and 

\  then,  alas  !  for  your  spiritual  and  eternal  interests  !  There- 
fore, as  St.  John  says,  "  Look  to  yourselves,  that  ye  lose 
not  those  things  which  ye  have  wrought,  but  that  ye 
receive  a  full  reward/'  Keep  fast  hold  of  your  hope  in 
Christ,  and  you  will  be  able  to  maintain  your  ground. 
Never  let  go  your  spiritual  anchor,  and  you  will  successfully 
resist  the  strong  currents  aruund  you.     You  will  feel  them 

*  no  doubt,  and  a  painful  struggle  you  may  have ;  but  you 
will  keep  your  ground.  A  ship  at  anchor  may  rock  heavily, 
and  those  on  board  may  find  the  motion  very  distressing ; 
but  though  they  may  suffer  discomfort,  they  will  not  suffer 
shipwreck.  I  do  not  say  that  the  good  hope  through 
grace  will  save  you  from  temptation,  and  trial,  and  conflict, 
but  it  will  keep  you  safe  amid  it  all. 

Now  we  come  to  the  last  point.  Where  are  you  to  cast  this 
anchor  ?  You  may  be  quite  sure  that  God  would  not  have 
provided  for  us  this  anchor  of  hope,  nor  intimated  to  us 
its  great  value,  if  there  were  not  some  firm  ground  to 
which  we  could  attach  it.  The  strongest  anchor  that  was 
ever  made  is  of  no  use  to  a  ship,  unless  there  is  some  solid 
basis  by  which  it  can  grip.  On  nothing  within  ourselves 
must  it  lay  hold  ;  it  must  be  thrown  forth,  and  hooked 
to  that  which  is  exterior  to  us.  The  mariner  flings  his 
anchor  out  of  the  ship,  away  from  and  beyond  his  sight  ; 
down  it  goes  with  a  splash  by  the  vessel's  side,  and  takes 
hold  of  the  floor  of  the  great  deep.  Where  it  is  to  serve 
any  purpose,  it  disappears  from  view,  it  is  hidden  within 
the  watery  veil.  Well,  it  is  just  so  with  *'  the  anchor  of 
the  soul."  You  recollect  the  words  of  St.  Paul :  **  We  are 
saved  by  hope,  but  hope  that  is  seen  is  not  hope ;  for 
what  a  man  seeth,  why  doth  he  yet  hope  for  }     But  if  we 


The  Anchor  of  the  SotiL  289 

hope  for  that  we  see  not,  then  do  we  with  patience  wait 
for  it." 

The  same  Apostle  speaks  of  it  **  entering  into  that 
within  the  veil  ;  "  and,  perhaps,  the  expression  strikes  you 
as  a  very  curious  one.  Undoubtedly  it  is  not  usual  to  cast 
anchors  within  curtains  or  veils.  But  when  you  think 
over  it  the  meaning  is  clear  and  beautiful.  The  meaning 
of  the  word  ''veil"  takes  us  back  to  the  worship  of  the 
ancient  Jewish  sanctuary.  You  are,  all  of  you,  old  enough 
to  know  that  the  Hebrew  tabernacle  consisted  of  three 
parts — the  outer  court,  the  holy  place,  and  the  Holy  of 
Holies.  That  innermost  recess  was  regarded  as  the 
special  residence  of  God,  and  was  typical  of  heaven.  No 
one  dared  to  enter  it  but  the  high-priest,  and  even  he  only 
once  a  year,  namely,  on  the  great  Day  of  Atonement. 
Well,  the  most  prominent  object  within  it  was  the  Ark, 
with  the  mercy-seat  upon  it,  which  spoke  of  a  gracious 
God,  and  of  pardon  for  the  sinner.  You  remember  that 
the  Holy  of  Holies  was  divided  from  the  rest  of  the  struc- 
ture by  a  beautiful  and  embroidered  curtain  which  was 
called  *'  the  veil."  Although  the  pious  Jewish  worshipper 
never  entered  within  that  curtain,  never  saw  behind  it,  yet 
he  knew  perfectly  what  was  there ;  he  knew  the  blessed 
truth  set  forth  by  that  mercy-seat,  and  all  his  spiritual 
hope  was  based  upon  it.  The  anchor  of  his  soul  entered 
into  that  within  the  veil,  and  took  hold  of  the  blood- 
besprinkled  mercy-seat  of  God. 

Dear  friends,  surely  I  do  not  need  to  tell  you  that  the 
stoutest  anchor  is  of  no  use  unless  it  find  suitable 
anchorage  ground.  You  do  not  wish  to  attach  your  ship 
to  a  mass  of  floating  seaweed,  or  to  loose,  shifting 
shingle  ;  you  want  a  solid  rock,  or  a  firm  and  compact 
bottom,  into  which  the  flukes  may  catch  without  any  risk 
of  the  moorings  giving  way. 

19 


290  The  City  Youth. 

Ah  !  it  won't  do  to  throw  out  your  soul's  anchor  upon  the 
mere  clemency  or  indulgence  of  an  amiable  God  ;  it  won't 
do  to  fasten  the  grapnel  of  your  eternal  hope  to  your  own 
good  works  or  feelings ;  such  a  hold  is  sure  to  fail.  The 
anchor  must  be  fixed  in  the  ground  God  has  provided,  and 
nowhere  else.  It  must  lay  hold  on  covenant  mercy,  on 
nothing  less  than  the  finished  work  of  Jesus. 

Let  me  put  it  to  you :  Is  Christ  your  only  ground  of 
hope }  Discard  every  other  confidence,  cling  to  Him 
alone. 

But  perhaps  the  words  "  within  the  veil "  make  you 
think  of  heaven.  You  say  that,  unlike  the  mariner,  you 
cast  your  anchor,  not  below,  but  above ;  yonder,  on  the 
other  side  of  the  clouds.     Your  language  is, 

*'  Steadfast  and  sure,  it  cannot  fail ; 
It  enters  deep  within  the  veil, 
It  fastens  on  a  land  unknown. 
And  moors  me  to  the  eternal  throne." 

And  you  are  right.  No  one  can  challenge  this  sweet 
truth.  St.  Paul  speaks  of  "  the  hope  which  is  laid  up  for 
you  in  heaven." 

Ah  !  Perhaps  some  of  you  have  as  yet  got  no  ancho?' ! 
You  are  going  forth  into  the  future,  with  its  unknown 
dangers  and  storms,  and  are  wholly  unprepared  !  Oh !  it 
is  a  sad  thing  to  live  *'  without  God,  and  without  hope  in 
the  world." 

Sir  Humphrey  Davy,  a  brilliant  and  successful  man  of 
science  of  last  century,  with  almost  everything  that  the 
world  could  give  to  make  a  man  happy,  once  wrote  to  a 
friend,  "  There  is  but  one  person  I  envy  upon  earth,  and 
that  is  the  man  who  has  a  clear  and  fixed  religious  belief." 
Alas !  how  many  all  around  us,  who  still  lack  this. 
Intelligent  and  amiable,  and  with  much  to  make  them 
happy,  but  still  dark  within.     **  All  at  sea  "  in  very  deed 


The  Anchor  of  the  Soul.  291 

as  regards  spiritual  things,  and  with  no  anchor  to  cling 
to! 

What  are  you  going  to  do  in  the  coming  storm  ?  To- 
day the  air  may  be  calm,  and  the  sky  serene ;  but  the 
clouds  are  gathering  for  such  a  tempest  and  riot  of 
elements  as  earth  has  never  seen  ;  and  woe  betide  those 
who  in  that  hour  have  no  Saviour  they  can  call  their  own  ! 
I  thank  God,  it  is  not  so  with  all  of  you.  You  have  fled 
for  refuge  to  the  true  source  of  safety,  and  have  no  reason 
to  fear.     Oh  !  that  every  one  of  you  could  say, — 

"  My  soul  hath  found  the  steadfast  ground ; 
There  ever  shall  my  anchor  hold  ; 
That  ground  is  in  my  Saviour  Christ, 
Before  the  world  was,  from  of  old  : 
And  that  sure  ground  shall  be  my  stay 
When  heaven  and  earth  have  passed  away." 

Amen, 


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Giving  an  account  of  the  Mythology,  Idolatry,  and  Demonolatry  of  the 
Chinese.  By  Rev.  Hampden  C.  Du  Bose,  14  years  a  Missionary 
in  China.  With  188  Illustrations,  Engraved  In  China.  Crown 
octavo.     Beautifully  bound.     Cloth,  full  gilt  side.     $2.00. 

"  7"^^  ivriter  has  drawn  his  •water  frovi  native  wells,  the  /ads  being  Mostly 
gathered  from  Chinese  sources.  The  pen  is  not  held  by  one  seated  in  a  professor's 
study,  but  by  a  plain  man,  who  daily  walks  to  and  fro  among  idolators,  and  testifies 
of  what  he  has  seen  and  heard,  written  in  a  plain  style,  so  that  the  young  as  well  as 
the  old  may  understand  it." 

"  As  a  writer,  he  has  drawn  largely  on  native  sources.  There  is  much  here  that 
will  be  of  value,  even  to  those  familiar  with  the  literature  on  the  subject.  One  walks  as 
with  a  familiar  friend  with  every  thing  in  the  country,  who  simply  talks  to  him  about 
these  religions  as  known  by  the  literati  and  the  common  people.  The  style  is 
remarkably  lucid,  and  the  interest  is  sustained  from  the  first  to  the  last." — Northern 
Christian  Advocate. 

"  We  commend  it  as  a  clear  and  popular  presentation  of  the  subject  about  which 
such  vague  views  prevail." — Lutheran  Quarterly. 

"  The  work  will  make  a  valuable  addition  to  our  young  people's  libraries,  and  will 
afford  much  food  for  reflection." — Zion's  Herald. 

"  Here  is  a  vast  store  of  information  about  the  Chinese  manners  and  customs  in 
all  the  phases  of  li'e.  The  author  has  also  studied  the  writings  of  Edkins,  Eitet, 
Legge,  and  Beal,  and  the  various  Chinese  sages." — N.  V.  Commercial. 

London  Saturday  Review — "It  is  a  book  likely  to  be  widely  read.  Of  the 
author's  minute  description  of  popular  and  household  deities,  and  the  mass  of  legend 
connected  with  them,  the  book  and  its  curious  illustrations  can  alone  speak.  Mr.  Du 
Bose  has  much  to  say  that  is  fresh  and  suggestive,  and  he  says  it  with  force  and 
conviction." 


MOMENTS  ON  THE   MOUNT. 

A  Series  of  108  Devotional  i\1editations. 

By  Rev.  Geo.   Matheson,  D.D,     (From  2d  English  edition.)     i2mo, 
cloth.     $1.25. 

"  In  '  Moments  on  the  Mcmnt '  7ve  are  brought  into  contact  with  a  writer  whose 
whole  soul  is  situratedwith  Divine  ideas,  and  to  whom  Scriptural  ijnages  are  the 
exponents  and  symbols  of  spiritual  conceptions.  This  volume  is  not  one  to  be  reati 
through  at  a  sitting  and  then  laid  aside  :  rather,  each  vteditation  is  to  be  pondered 
orver  and  rrijoyed  singly  and  separately ,  and  to  be  dwelt  upon  until  it  becomes  a  per- 
manent possession.  ' — The  Scotsman. 

Rev.  Dr.  John  Hall  s^ys  ecich  section  is  self-contained,  practical,  starting  with  a 
Bible  word  and  bringing  out  in  a  meditative  form  its  meaning.  For  the  sick-room,  the 
aged,  or  for  the  closet-table  of  any  Christian,  it  is  a  thoroughly  fit  and  gooJ  book. 


Copies  sent  by  mail  on  receipt  of  price. 
A.  C.  ARMSTRONG  &  SON,  714  Broadway,  New  York. 


C  H  O I  C  E    STANDARD    WORKS, 

A  NEW  EDITION  OF 

THE  HISTORY  OF  THE  CRUSADES. 

J^,T>.    G00-1270. 

IN  EIGHT  PARTS^  WITH  AN  INDEX  OF  41  PAGES. 

By  JOSEPH  FRANCOIS  MICHAUD. 

And  a  Preface  and  Supplementary  Chapter  by  Hamilton  W.  Mabie, 
3    vols.,    crown    8vo,    Cloth.      $3.75. 

(Bound  in  Half  Calf  extra^  -$3  J>er  vol.) 
"The  ability,  diligence  and  faithfulness  with  which  Michaud 
has  executed  his  great  task  are  undisputed,  and  it  is  to  his  well-filled 
volumes  that  all  must  resort  for  copious  and  authentic  facts  and  luminour 
views  respecting  this  most  romantic  and  wonderful  period  in  the  annals 
of  the  world." 

This  work  has  long  been  out  of  print,  and  its  republication  is  oppor- 
tune. It  narrates  very  fully  and  in  a  picturesque  and  interesting  manner, 
the  most  striking  episode  in  European  history,  and  will  add  an  invalu- 
able work  to  the  historical  literature  which  has  recently  been  put  into  the 
hands  of  the  reading  public  in  editions  combining  sound  scholarship 
and  reasonable  prices.  Of  the  first  excellence  as  an  authority,  full  of 
romantic  incident,  graphic  in  style,  this  new  edition  of  that  which  is  by 
universal  consent 

THE  STANDARD  HISTORY  OF  THE  CRUSADES, 

will  have  equal  value  for  the  student  and  general  reader. 


IlIVEllSIBE    EDITION    OF 

MACAULAY'S    ESSAYS, 

Cfitical,  Historical  and    Miscellaneous.     With  a  Biographical  and 

Critical  Jntroduction  from  the  well-known  pen   of  Mr.  E.  P. 

Whipple.     3  vols.,  crown   8vo,  Cloth,  3,000  pages. 

With  a  fine  Portrait  on  Steel.     Price,  $3.75. 

(Bound  in  Half  Calf  extra,  $3  ^er  vol.) 
In  this  edition  the  essays  have  been  arranged  in  chronological  order, 
so  that  their  perusal  affords,  so  to  speak,  a  complete  biographical  portrait- 
are  of  the  brilliant  author's  mind.   It  contains  the  pure  text  of  the  author 
and  the  exact  punctuation,  orthography,  etc.,  of  the  Englii^h  editions. 

A  very  full  index  (55  pages)  has  been  specially  prepared  for  this 
edition.  In  this  re,spect  it  is  superior  to  the  English  editions,  and  wholly 
mlii-^  any  other  American  edition. 

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